Public investigation: torture of detainees in August 2020 in the Frunzensky police department of Minsk
Election fraud in 2020 led to mass peaceful protests that were brutally suppressed.
The employees of the Frunzensky District Department of Internal Affairs were especially cruel.
About 600 people were brought here in just 4 days (from August 9th to 13th)
People were beaten and insulted. Some were marked with paint – this meant that they should be beaten and insulted with particular cruelty. Here is how the victims describe the events:
- there were traces of blood and urine on the floor and walls. Bloody people with their hands tied behind their backs lay on the floor and knelt.
- Employees walked between the rows and beat those who were lying with or without reason. They beat me with truncheons, kicked and punched me, and used a stun gun.
- at the entrance and exit of the police department, the detainees were driven through the “corridor” from the police and OMON, who were beaten with truncheons and kicked.
The detainees were subjected to physical torture:
- They were not allowed to drink, they were not allowed to go to the toilet. When someone asked for it, they beat him. Laughing mockingly, they said: “Let’s do it for ourselves. Now we will beat you, and when you dirty us here, we will completely kill you.”
- To streamline the space, people were dragged across the floor by handcuffs. The handcuffs dug into his hands, and this caused terrible pain.
- Many detainees had damaged ligaments and bones, but medical assistance was not provided at the police department. Among the detainees was a young man who repeated that he had recently undergone an operation to remove a kidney and the pit should not be in such a state. He asked to call an ambulance, but in response he was beaten more and more.
People were subjected to moral abuse:
- The teenager, who was lying on the floor, was forced to kiss the shoes of a policeman before being allowed to go home.
- Police officers clung to the girls: “He first hugged me, then roughly touched my neck.” “He started stroking my lips, face, hair and hugging me.”
- Men were also threatened with sexual violence. They said: “We will fuck you with batons,” – after that there was usually a series of beatings.
- The detainees were forced to shout: “We love Belarus”, “We love our President Lukashenka”, “We will not smash the city anymore”. Those who slowed down or remained silent were severely beaten.
Employee Karina was especially cruel. She walked among the detainees and repeated: “You freaks, because of you bitches, I don’t sleep for three nights in a row.” She ordered the men to sit down. People with beaten clubs with blue legs could not do it and fell. She pushed the fallen ones in the face, forced them to get up and threw chicken eggs at them.
None of the victims got a fair trial. People were forced to sign fake protocols and blank sheets of paper. Those who refused were beaten.
To achieve justice in the future, we documented the stories of the victims and conducted our own investigation. Based on the interview, we collected a chronology of events, compiled a list of criminals and gave a legal assessment of their actions.