DUSHANBE, October 23, 2015, Asia-Plus – Russian human rights activists have organized picket in memory of a Tajik baby who was separated from his parents in police custody and died in hospital.
Radio Liberty
reports three female activists of the human rights group “Prava dlya Vsekh” (Rights for All) on October 23 picketed 1st police station in St. Petersburg’s Admiralteyskiy district in memory of the fife-month-old Umarali Nazarov who was separated from his parents in police custody and died in hospital.
They were reportedly picketing the police station by turns carrying a placard shortly telling the story of Umarali Nazarov. Inscription of the placard ended with words “Migration Policy or Ordinary Fascism?”
The picket participants demanded a thorough and unbiased investigation into the incident.
Ms. Natalia Sivokhina, the coordinator of the “Prava dlya Vsekh” group, says that “first of all, the system, migration policy and the outrageous attitude towards people are to blame.” Secondly, police officers, who separated the baby from his mother, are guilty of this tragedy, Ms. Sivokhina noted.
According to the “Prava dlya Vsekh” activists, it was just the first action of protest and they plan to conduct new pickets in the near future.
We will recall that Umarali Nazarov, the five-month-old son of a Tajik migrant family, died on October 14, a day after his parents were briefly detained for allegedly violating migration rules.
According to Radio Liberty, the parents say police officers separated the child from the couple upon their arrest and didn”t return him when they were released five hours later.
The parents say police told them the child was sent to hospital with respiratory problems. They were given the child”s body a day later.
The parents insist their child was healthy and didn”t suffer from any illness.
The incident has sparked angry protests by dozens of Tajiks in Moscow and outrage on social media.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has instituted criminal proceedings over the death of a Tajik baby in St. Petersburg.
According to information posted on the Investigative Committee’s website, criminal proceedings have been instituted under the provisions of Article 109 (2) of Russia’s Penal Code – causing death by negligence.
Police have also conducted a pre-investigation inspection with the baby’s parents, who are suspected of failing to perform their duties on educating the underage child (Article 156 of Russia’s Penal Code).
