A participant in a protest against pension reform was sentenced to forced treatment for “hitting” police officers

The Tverskoy District Court sent Vasily Kostylev, a participant in a rally against pension reform on September 9, 2018, to compulsory treatment. He was charged with using violence against a police officer. It is reported by MBH Media.

Testimony of the police officers was read out at the trial, claiming that Kostylev had hit one policeman in the face and hit and seized the neck of another police officer. Kostylev himself stated that it was he who was beaten on the back: “I was in a state of forced self-defense. I don’t remember that I deliberately hit the representatives of the authorities.”

An examination of the Serbsky Institute diagnosed Kostylev with a mental disorder. In this regard, the prosecutor's office asked to be released from criminal prosecution and sent for compulsory treatment in a hospital. The defense insisted on the possibility of voluntary treatment.

• Earlier, the Tverskoy Court sent Viktor Fedoseev, another participant in the rally on September 9, to compulsory treatment. He was accused of violence against a private of the National Guard (part 1 of article 318 of the Criminal Code) during the event.
• On September 9, 2018, an all-Russian action was held against raising the retirement age. In total, according to OVD-Info, more than 1,018 people were detained.