Rights defenders to investigate death of Armenian native in a police station in Orenburg

The Orenburg Branch of the Interregional Public Organization "Committee Against Torture" holds a public inquiry into the death of Armen Sargsyan, a local resident, on November 18 in the premises of the operative and investigatory unit of the MIA Department for Orenburg; his father has applied for legal aid to human rights defenders, who do not exclude that he was tortured to death.

According to the information released by the PR division of the above Department, the 34-year-old resident of the regional capital was detained and taken to the building of the above unit on November 18 on suspicion of a theft.

In the course of interrogation at the police, according to law enforcers, the man felt bad; he complained of pain in his heart; an ambulance was immediately called; and doctors stated hi death, calling acute heart failure as a provisional reason.

As stated by the father of the casualty, on November 18, Armen Sargsyan left the house in the morning in buoyant mood. At about 7:00 p.m. the father received a call from Armen's friends, who said that about three o'clock in the afternoon his son was suddenly detained by policemen and taken to Investigatory-Search Unit No. 2 on suspicion of a theft. After that, Armen's father and brothers came to the unit, but failed to get any information. Only in the morning on November 19 the father learnt that his son had been brought to the morgue, where relatives identified the dead Armen.

The father asserts that his son's body had clearly seen numerous injuries – his head had a fresh cross-shaped wound sized about 4-5 cm in the crown area; the edges of the wound were bleeding. A smaller wound of the same sort was seen in the occipital area. The doctor at the morgue told him that Armen had bruises of kidneys; his buttocks had numerous bruises; however, his heart had been in order.

According to the father, Armen was a healthy guy, active in sports, in the morning he did exercise, was jogging; and in the morning of that day he went out of the house without any injuries.