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Ten Russians detained during Euro 2012 matches remain in custody in Poland

Тhe overwhelming majority of Russians detained on Saturday are free now
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

WARSAW, June 17 (Itar-Tass) —— Ten Russians detained during the Euro 2012 matches remain in custody in Poland, Chairman of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov told Russian reporters on Sunday, after his meeting with Polish Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki.

“Only seven out of 27 people detained on the day of the Russia-Poland soccer match on June 12 are still in custody. All the others have been released. Five Russians are pending trial, and two have been sentenced to the arrest from two to three months. The ruling may be appealed. It has not entered into force,” Fedotov said. A Russian speaking lawyer has been assigned to the Russians, the Russian consulate said.

“Three more Russians are in custody after yesterday’s match (Russia vs. Germany),” Fedotov said. “The Polish police detained 70 people who had been behaving aggressively. They did not attack anyone but they looked like fighters. The detainees were taken to a police station where officers seized brass knuckles, gloves and mouth guards.”

The overwhelming majority of Russians detained on Saturday are free now. “The police kept three Russians in custody. One carried no id, and another had a fake id. The third detainee lit a flare at the stadium. We saw him doing that. We want this person to stand trial, because he undermines the national authority and lets down our Soccer Union and national soccer team. I wonder why such people call themselves soccer fans. I would rather call them soccer rascals because they play nasty tricks on the national team,” Fedotov said.

The two people with id problems will be released as soon as they are identified, he said.

The police are searching for hooligans recorded by stadium cameras. More than 200 people, most of them Polish citizens, are taken into custody. Two Russians suspected of beating a steward at the Wroclaw stadium on June 8 were taken off the train on the Belarusian border on Sunday. The men were interrogated and sent home. Probably, they are blacklisted in the Schengen zone now.

Fifteen Russians needed serious medical aid in the Euro 2012 brawls in Warsaw over the past week. Fedotov visited the injured at the hospital. He said the majority of the injured people were peaceful fans. A Russian with a brain injury is staying at the hospital 110 kilometers away from Warsaw. Doctors do not recommend transporting him so far. The Russians are given medical aid for free.