A
Jehovah's Witness (the organization is considered extremist in
the R.F.) from
Moscow, 49-year-old Vardan Zakarian, immediately after release
from an I.V.S.
[temporary holding cell], filed a complaint about the actions of
law enforcers during
searches in his apartment and he accused them of a beating. This
information
appeared on the website of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia.
Vardan
Zakarian was arrested on 24 November during searches in homes of
Jehovah's
Witnesses in Moscow. At that time, law enforcers beat him about
the head with
the butt of an automatic rifle. In addition, Zakarian's blood
pressure rose and
emergency help was summoned for him. Vardan Zakarian was taken
under guard to
city clinical hospital No. 20, where he was diagnosed with
"traumatic
encephalopathy." Relatives were not permitted to enter the man's
room and
they were not permitted to bring him food.
On 26
November, Zakarian was released from the hospital and taken for
questioning by
investigator D. Smadich, who charged him. On 27 November, the
court extended
the measure of restriction for the Jehovah's Witness in the form
of detention
in custody. From the courthouse Zakarian was taken to a
temporary holding cell,
where he was subjected to pressure, demanding that he admit that
he was guilty
of extremist activity.
On 30
November, the Presnya district court of Moscow ordered that
Vardan Zakarian be
released from prison and placed under house arrest until 23
January.
Zakarian's
lawyer reported that the criminal case in the context of which
the believer was
arrested was opened on the basis of parts 1 and 1.1 of article
282.2 of the
Criminal Cade of the R.F. and is the work of D.V. Smadich, who
is an
investigator for especially important cases of the first
investigation department
of the first directorate for investigation of especially
important cases of the
chief investigation department of the Investigative Committee of
Russia
[S.K.R.] for Moscow. The lawyer's attempts to request an
explanation of the
reason for violence against Vardan Zakarian were ignored by
Smadich and he
stopped answering the telephone. The lawyer filed an appropriate
complaint in
the Moscow prosecutor's office. (tr. by PDS, posted 2 December
2020)
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