Rights defenders link detainees' falls from windows with fear of torture at police

Cases of detainees jumping from windows of police buildings are rare in Russia and are associated with the fear of becoming a victim of torture, human rights defenders have stated after an incident at the Makhachkala police station.

On August 26, a male detainee jumped from the third level of the Sovietsky ROVD (District Interior Division) in Makhachkala, Shamil Khadulaev, the chairman of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of Dagestan, has informed. According to his story, the man is "all right," and he was detained on suspicion of distributing pornographic materials, including those involving minors.

According to Khadulaev, the man rushed to the window when policemen demanded from him to unlock his phone, which, in their opinion, contained child pornography.

Cases of such behaviour are extremely rare in Dagestan, Mr Khadulaev has added. He could only recall one similar incident – in 2017, at the same police station, a detainee feared becoming a victim of torture.

"The guy jumped out of a window from the fourth level. I asked him: why? He answered that he had heard a lot about torture at the police and was sure that he would be tortured," said Khadulaev.

Such incidents are quite rare in Russia in general, a source from the human rights "Team against Torture" (TaT)* has noted, adding that "usually this happens in cases of especially cruel torture, when it is easier for a person to jump out of a window than to endure it."

In August 2017, a resident of Astrakhan, who was identified in the investigator's office by the robbery victim, jumped out of a window and was hospitalized.

Let us note here that on July 9, 2024, Akhmed Djabrailov, a special force fighter of the "Akhmat" unit, who was detained for disturbing public order, died at the Sovietsky ROVD. According to investigators, one of law enforcers beat him and used a stun gun on him, and also crushed him with his weight, which led to the death of the detainee.

*The "Team against Torture" (TaT, formerly the "Committee against Torture" – CaT) was created by the lawyers who had earlier worked for the CaT, which was included into the register of the NCOs performing the functions of foreign agents.