All news

Police actions during unauthorized rallies justified, Kremlin says

The Kremlin spokesman added that people can file complaints if they believe that police officers’ actions against them were illegal

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Actions of the law enforcement officers during the unauthorized rallies were justified because they took place amid aggressive behavior of provocateurs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday, adding that people can file complaints if they believe that police officers’ actions against them were illegal.

"The [law enforcement] officers’ actions totally were and still remain justified amid the illegal rallies that took place, and amid the aggressive behavior of provocateurs and hooligans that took place," the spokesman said.

He pointed out that "the sad stories [of possible illegal actions of the police offices] are few and far between, and, of course, each and every of them deserve attention."

Peskov pointed out that such cases are reviewed by civil councils of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Guard.

"One can turn to the watchdog agencies," Peskov said. "One should engage all these possibilities in such cases."

Peskov admitted that he is unaware about the brutal apprehension of journalist Timur Khadjibekov in St. Petersburg, but advised to "make sure to file a complaint." Commenting on another case when a police officer kicked a woman, the spokesman reminded, that "an internal investigation was initiated immediately over this fact."

"In substance, of course, these events should be commented on by the representatives of these [law enforcement] agencies," the spokesman said. "If we simply give an assessment of what happened, then we cannot forget that we are talking about actions of provocateurs, violators of law, who participated in unauthorized rallies, where rather numerous cases of violence against police officers took place; we saw them on TV, we saw them on hundreds of videos published online," Peskov believes.

In his assessment, "this situation was very tense."

"When police officers are being attacked, there is sometimes no time for introductions; we saw what was happening there," the spokesman said, reiterating that "every specific case [of police’s illegal actions], which are not that numerous, must, of course, receive proper attention."

According to Peskov, citizens "are entitled to engage all available legal, judicial set of tools in order to complain against the actions of the law enforcement representatives."