Lawyer from Cherkessk complains about beating up by law enforcers

Kemal Kuscheterov, a lawyer, whom his colleagues declared kidnapped by law enforcers on July 3, was released this morning. A law enforcer had accused Kemal of attacking him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 3, lawyers of Branch No. 11 of the Bar Association of Cherkessk reported that their colleague Kemal Kuscheterov was beaten up and kidnapped.

Today, Kemal Kuscheterov filed an application to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) about physical violence applied to him by employees of one of law enforcement bodies. He stated in the application that he was beaten in the evening on July 3, when he arrived at the place of some investigatory actions held at the residence of his client, Anatoly Kaznacheev, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has reported.

According to Kemal, one of law enforcers began addressing him "in a boorish and offensive manner."

"In response to my remarks about improper behaviour, they pushed me out of the household. In the yard, another agent abused me; later, the agent allegedly found a bump on his forehead and a torn shirt. This is nonsense – [the law enforcer] deliberately mutilating himself to bring a lawyer to justice," Mr Kuscheterov has stated.

"Then, they pushed me into a car, handcuffed me, strangled and beat up from behind. They brought me to the detention centre and wrote a report against me under Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the use of violence against a law enforcer, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") about my alleged resisting and attacking the law enforcer," said the lawyer.

An investigator, upon arriving at the detention centre, appointed a medical examination, after which Kuscheterov was released.

"I lodged an application to the ICRF about the abuse of power by law enforcers. In its turn, the ICRF is checking the report of the agent, whom I allegedly attacked. They will consider initiating a criminal case against me," Kemal Kuscheterov has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 4, 2018 at 07:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.