"They threw my skateboard away and told me I feigned a broken arm." Survivor stories

The Human Rights Center "Viasna” and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) launched a campaign to document cases of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of protesters on August 9-13. Some testimonies of people who survived torture and violence will be published on our website as evidence of crimes committed by security forces.

The story of 20-year-old Minsk resident Ivan Yeutukhou cause a stir on the Internet: on September 23, the guy was detained by riot policemen; one of them took a ride on Ivan's skateboard and threw it in the garbage. Ivan told "Viasna" the details of what happened: during the detention, his arm was broken and no ambulance was called, even when he reported a heart condition. The doctor at Žodzina detention center said that his arm was fine because it had not swollen up. The guy received medical attendance only after the trial.

Ivan Yeutukhou

Ivan says that he has been skateboarding for 7 years and rides every night – this was the case on September 23.

"I couldn't even imagine that that day would be any different from the rest," the young man recollects. "That night, I was passing along my usual route in the area of Niamiha: I was riding and listening to music when suddenly I felt a push from behind. I fell down, flipped over, literally in 5 seconds I was already on the ground. I got up, walked a couple of meters, but I was brought down and I twisted on the ground. I would like to emphasize: I didn't take part in the protest; that evening was an ordinary leisure time for me.

When detaining me, they pressed me to the ground very hard and broke my arm. I was welcomed roughly in the police van: they immediately put me face to the floor, started to frighten me and asked for my phone. Before handing it to them I managed to call my father and tell about the detention. It took my relatives 24 hours to find me."

Despite the fact that Ivan asked to call an ambulance, nobody helped him.

The doctor diagnosed Ivan with multiple scratches and bruises

"I felt very bad," he said. "Moreover, I have a heart condition. But nobody paid attention to it. At Zavodski police department, where I was brought, various officers promised to call a doctor, but I never saw them come. They only said that the sooner I signed the offense reports, the sooner an ambulance would come to get me. I signed everything without reading it, they took me out to the street, but instead of calling the ambulance they threw me back to the police van – for a transfer to Žodzina detention center."

There the young man was placed near the wall, he was afraid to turn his head. But eventually, he was taken to the doctor.

"He gave me some medicine for the heart, but he said that I feigned a broken arm," Ivan explains. "He said that it didn't swell up, so everything was fine. Afterwards, I saw a man with a badly injured head in the cell.”

Then there was a trial. Two administrative offense reports were drawn up against the young man – for participation in an unauthorized mass event and resistance during arrest. But he was able to prove that there had been no resistance and eventually received a $50 fine for participation in a protest. Ivan saw a doctor after leaving the detention center: the doctor diagnosed a broken arm, numerous contusions and bruises.

"I didn't even think about the skateboard back then: I noticed that it wasn't there only in the police van. After the video of my detention had been posted online, some kind people took it out of the trash and handed it over to my friends. It's a bit shabby but essentially fine: just like me," Ivan jokes.

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