Aleh Vouchak: Policemen could have killed detainees accidentally

Policemen who beat detainees should undergo forensic psychiatric assessment.

This opinion was expressed by former prosecution investigator Aleh Vouchak, who talked to charter97.org about the beating of young men by officers of the Pershamaiski district police department.

“Under law, medical staff of the hospital, where Pavel had been taken to, were obliged to call a policeman from a local police station to record injuries and question the man. It raises suspicions why it wasn't done. I trust the young men, who say they were beaten in an utility room in a store. I think the store managers gives false evidence to hide the criminal actions of law enforcement officers,” the lawyer says.

He supposes that it has not been the first case of beating in that store and it may be a tool of discouraging people from shoplifting.

“The first things to be done are questioning the store's administrator, examining CCTV footage and inspecting the utility room. I am sure blood of other people can be found there. Punches and kicks are not old methods, but using a riffle sling to choke a person is an extra-new torture technique. When the policemen were choking the guys, the riffles could have shot accidentally and killed the detainees,” the human rights activist says.

“The Investigation Committee should immediately relieve the police officers of their duties. The policemen should undergo psychiatric assessment to see if they are sane. I agree that a thief must be punished, but it should be done in accordance with the law. I have an impression that we are approaching the point when the police will turn into the agency that can do whatever they want. Eighteen months have passed since the foundation of the Investigation Committee, but none cases have been sent to a court despite evidence of eyewitnesses and bodily injuries. The mutual cover-up gives law enforcers a free hand in committing crimes, while police top officials, prosecution agencies and the Investigation Committee continue to protect them,” Aleh Vouchak says.

It should be reminded that cruel conduct of police officers has become an everyday thing in Belarus.

There were recent reports about beating and cruel treatment of detainees by policemen across Belarus. In Minsk, officers of the Pershamaiski district police department picked up the baton from their colleagues in the Leninski district police department.