Aleh Vouchak: They wanted to hush up torture incident

Vasily Sarochyk, the man beaten by the police, decided to fight to the finish, therefore a criminal case was initiated, a former prosecution investigator thinks.

“I didn't believe my eyes when I read the news that a criminal case over torture of Vasily Sarochyk in the Leninski district police department was initiated,” Aleh Vouchak, the head of Legal Assitance to People organisation and former prosecution investigator, told charter97.org.

He says there are several reasons for initiating the criminal case:

“The first one is the active position of the independent media and human rights groups that supported the injured man. The second reason is that Vasily Sarochyk decided to fight to the finish. He was pressed psychologically to make him stop talking to human rights activists and agree a truce to hush up the incident. But Vasily Sarochyk decided to carry through after all humiliations he had. The third factor is that the Investigation Committee had no other choice but to admit he had traces of handcuffs and numerous injuries. It would have been silly if they had written he jumped from the bench 12 times and jumped out of the window.”

It is also important that Sarochyk has good references, the former prosecution investigator thinks:

“They did a great job collecting references for him. They talked to his co-workers and so on. He is described as a good person everywhere. There's a nuance that Vasily Sarochyk mentioned corruption. He said the woman, who had beaten him, protected a market. It is easier for the authorities to punish her not the for beaten man, but for corruption. Another criminal case is likely to be initiated.”