Police grabbed and forcibly taken to the police station-year-old boy who was reading on the Arbat Shakespeare’s poems. Video of the arrest posted on his page in Facebook civil activist Irina Yatsenko. The record shows that the child is frightened, shouting, “help, help”. The woman accompanying the child (it turned out later that she was the wife of the father of the boy), asks police to produce documents. Police push woman and take the baby. Video caused a public outcry and a lot of attention from the media. Later one of the lawyers who are hired by the child’s father Ilya Swarovski, Tatiana Solomina, wrote on Twitter that the child was released and the Deputy chief of police for the protection of public order Ministry of internal Affairs on TSAO brought the family an apology.
In an interview with Radio Liberty Ilya Swarovski said that he was going to punish police officers who arrested his child.
— In the interior Ministry told RBC that the child was not apprehended, and police it “picked up” because the boy was on the street without an adult. In a press-service of the Ministry explained that the child approached passers-by and cars, and police could not say who his parents are. What happened, on your version?
— My son has for three years had this problem. Using different techniques we these problems won. The psychologist advised his son to recite poems in public. It is often during walks through the city accompanied by me or my wife read aloud of different poems. The psychologist said that poetry is useful for my son a lesson. In addition, it develops acting skills. Son loves poetry, and many poems he knows by heart. Passers-by could take his publicly reading poetry. And before the police responded kindly and calmly. One day a policeman went to his son and shook his hand. But what happened yesterday, I still can’t believe this. On 26 may, the wife went with my son to walk to the area of Vozdvizhenka. Wife read the book, and the son stood in front and recited Shakespeare.
— And for him it passers-by gave money? The video shows that with my son is an open bag.
— Bag for the money. Just his diaper bag. Son didn’t beg, didn’t ask passers-by money. He never approached the machines, according to some media reports.
— How was the detention?
The wife heard the son screaming. Saw that around him the police, rushed to the son. My wife is very scared kid somewhere trying to get strangers. She began to demand that the police had. The police did not. They behaved outrageously. Turned to his wife “you” cussed. Police threw wife, torn clothes, broken devices. Pushed son into the car and drove away. Wife wanted to go with her son. But she was not allowed. As a result, she went to the station on their own. On the way to the station the police didn’t even try to reassure the preteen, to explain to him what’s going on. They were rude and cruel. In the station son, who was hysterical, comforting arrested for Smoking sixteen-year-old girl. When the wife called me and told me what happened, the police laughed and mocked her. This situation seemed funny. I immediately after the call, his wife went to the station. Police me is also treated rudely. Been trying to get me to sign the Protocol, alleged my son was involved in begging. I didn’t sign anything and refused to talk to police without lawyers. The police threatened that they can accuse my wife of assaulting law enforcement officers. They told me that my wife is crazy. It was very difficult not to respond to these attacks and to deal with them calmly.
— How did you manage to get an apology?
— That my son cruelly detained by the police, wrote many mass media. Intervened human rights activist Anatoly Kucherena, and through his assistance the chief of police on protection of a public order Ministry of internal Affairs on TSAO apologized. But the police who grabbed his son and mocked him, apologies I did not bring. I think that if not for the help of human rights defenders in police custody continued to wreak havoc against our family.
— How to now is your son?
— He had a strong shock. The son spent several hours terrified. We will do a psychological evaluation.
— The court are going to apply for police?
— Now inside the interior Ministry carried out verification of the actions of the police grabbed my son. Depending on its results, I will think how to proceed. For my family, this situation ended. But I want to punish the officers to protect other people who may be in a similar situation. To become a victim of police brutality, do not have to be a child and go out to read poetry. Unable to grab anyone. It is for this reason I will make the punishment of police officers who arrested the son. What happened to my family, it’s the tyranny of small people, endowed with great power and know how to use it correctly. I think it could have been worse. The health of the child or wife could suffer as a result of strong stress that they have experienced. I think cops should be responsible for every action. I believe that the police must remember that they are first and foremost people. I do not want the police to smear one world. I claim only to specific police.
Some Internet users write that the situation is ambiguous and you may have forced the child to earn on the street verses the money.
I don’t want such people to answer. They still can’t prove anything. I don’t like that in the discussion about wild tales, which came from my family, the emphasis is on having read my son poems free or for money. Normal people understand that when a child who has done nothing wrong, the police forcibly dragged into the car, it is necessary to resent this. And not to discuss whether or not to allow a child to read poetry on the street. It is not necessary to shift the focus and make the victim to blame in the conduct of the perpetrator.
— When your son was detained, there were lots of people. Someone tried to help him?
Some people approached the police and asked questions. Some of them later also was taken to the police station as witnesses. But seriously no one helped. I’m not surprised. I remember once my eyes in the Moscow metro on the rails jumped down. I got down behind him. And when she shook hands in the hope that somebody pulled, the platform was empty. But when I’m an inadequate person (he was drugged) led to the police, many people were willing to escort us there. Since then, I have nothing surprised.
Review gave the family’s lawyer Swarovski Anastasia Samorukova:
The arrest of the boy was absolutely illegal. Now I’m going to the police station to cancel the illegal Protocol of begging. No, from a legal point of view, the reason to treat a child begging there. Boy publicly read poetry that is not prohibited by Russian legislation. Begging is an activity aimed at soliciting money. By the way, in case there is anything that someone gave the boy for a poetry reading money. I think that in this situation everything is clear: literate educated child who loves poetry, has suffered from the inappropriate actions of the police. I think society should respond to this situation by far.
