“That’s the kind of screaming I’ve never heard, not even in horror movies. The louder he screamed, the harder he was beaten”

“Moscow District Police Department of Minsk. Torture of Detainees from August 9-13, 2020.” Public Investigation.

The International Committee for the Investigation of Torture in Belarus presents a new report on crimes against humanity committed by the regime after the 2020 elections. This time, the investigators focused on the Moscow District Police Department of Minsk and the atrocities that occurred there from August 9 to 13, 2020.

Committee experts thoroughly examined 48 individual interviews (569 pages of text) of detainees, analyzed photographs of injuries and medical documents (58 pages). Based on this data, a chronology of events was compiled.

Detainees from all over the city were brought to the Moscow District Police Department, among them women, minors, and the elderly. Those marked with paint by the OMON, those with tattoos, those speaking Belarusian, and those with non-standard appearances (long or dyed hair, dreadlocks, piercings) were treated most harshly.

Based on the testimonies of citizens and the documents they provided, Committee investigators conclude that law enforcement officers on the premises of the Moscow District Police Department of Minsk carried out mass and systematic acts of torture and violence, including sexual violence (at least three victims reported this), abuse, and cruel treatment of detainees.

People were forced to run through lines of officers with batons (so-called “corridors/stairs of death”), held in uncomfortable positions for hours, and beaten. During interrogations and processing, detainees were treated with particular brutality: they were choked, had clothing placed over their heads, and were sat on. One girl had her chest piercing removed with pliers. The wounded and beaten were held in overcrowded, stuffy, and humid cells, not fed, and restricted in drinking water. They were rarely allowed to use the toilet, and when they were, they were insulted and beaten, with attempts to “drown” them in the toilet. Medical assistance was generally not provided.

In interviews, many who passed through the Moscow District Police Department of Minsk in 2020 shared that they felt as if they were held captive by terrorists.

Quotes from victims’ testimonies:

• “I realized in the police van that I might not get out of there alive. And at the police department, I was certain of it.”
• “If people were beaten relatively lightly in the assembly hall, it was much harsher in the corridors. You could hear them being beaten. Those of us lying in the assembly hall protested and tried to shout, ‘What are you doing, stop!’ It seemed like nothing alive was left there.”
• “Those lying on the floor were told, ‘Head to the floor.’ If someone didn’t obey, or their neck went numb, or they couldn’t do something, they were forced to comply by force. They were beaten with feet.”
• “Going to the toilet was rare. People urinated and defecated on themselves. Some, due to pain or something else…”
• “What shocked me the most was one of them shouting, ‘We’re just waiting for permission to use weapons, and we’ll shoot you all, bastards. We’ll shoot everyone!’”
• “I can say those were the two most terrifying hours of my life. They beat us, they mocked us.”
• “When I was there, the feeling of helplessness never left me. Because they could do anything to you. Basically, you couldn’t resist in any way. I realized that they could do whatever they wanted. Their hands were untied. They said this more than once.”

As a result of their stay at the Moscow District Police Department, many detainees developed serious physical and mental health problems, some of which are irreversible.

The main goal of our investigation is to reconstruct the events of August 2020, preserve all evidence of crimes and the names of the criminals, and ensure justice prevails in the future. At the end of the report, we provide a list of 14 law enforcement officers who participated in the torture. They were identified by the victims, and additional information about the officers was obtained from several sources. Important: the guilt of these individuals must be proven in court.

We continue to call on the international community to take action and support the victims, hold those responsible for the crimes accountable. It is necessary to end the cycle of violence and impunity so that such events never happen again.