MOSCOW RIOT POLICE DETAINED DOZENS OF TEENAGERS, USED STUN GUNS ON THEM
On the evening of July 3, riot police in Moscow conducted a sweep near Kitay-gorod, detaining dozens of teenagers, including minors, and using stun guns on them. Detainees reported beatings and humiliation.
Late on July 3, riot police carried out a sweep near Kitay-gorod in central Moscow. Officers brutally detained teenagers who were out on the streets, including minors. On social media, many of those affected described beatings and humiliation at the hands of riot police. According to those detained, officers used stun guns on them. Several dozen people were taken to a police station, where they were held for several hours. The young people say police recorded their personal information and photographed them but did not file any formal reports.
The independent journalism cooperative Bereg spoke with one of those detained, Georgy, and with a Moscow woman, Milena, who witnessed the sweep. Georgy said he was struck from behind on the neck without warning, knocked to his knees, grabbed, punched in the face, and hit on the leg. Inside the van, he heard officers forcing two detainees to beat another who had complained about badge numbers. One detainee had an asthma attack, but officers initially refused to provide an inhaler. Georgy felt stun gun shocks through the crowd.
At the police station, about 100 people were gathered, two-thirds of them minors. Officers cited the "current situation" (the war) and an alleged attempted rape as reasons for the sweep, but Georgy disbelieves this. Milena saw officers grab and beat a passerby who did not resist. Most of those detained were very young, aged 14–17. One youth tried to run away but was tackled and dragged to the van.
