Post date: Aug 20, 2012 11:51:30 AM
MOSCOW, RUSSIA (AUGUST 20, 2012) (REUTERS) - Putin critic and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov on Monday (August 20) said he planned to open a criminal case against a police officer who he claims illegally detained him, beat him and then falsely accused him of biting him on the hand.
Russian opposition leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov visits a police station to open a criminal case against a police officer who he says beat him, and then falsely accused him of biting him on the hand.
Kasparov, one of Russia's opposition movement leaders, visited a police station in central Moscow to present evidence in his favour.
"Right now here I was asked by a police officer just to collect information and then to present this information to the investigators who eventually should be making a decision whether they will open criminal procedures against me or not. So, that's one side of the story," Kasparov said.
The 49-year-old chess player was detained by police on Friday (August 17) outside a Moscow courthouse where a Russian judge was reading out the verdict for anti-Putin punk band Pussy Riot.
Kasparov said a video taken at the time of his arrest proved that claims that he had bitten a police officer were false.
"We presented the video, which proves beyond any doubt - any reasonable doubt, that I was physically assaulted, illegally detained by police officers, and the man who has been accusing me of biting his hand as a matter of fact was hitting me with his hand. And even at the end of this incident he was show by simply having his hand with maybe a little bruise, which could be identified as anything but a bite," Kasparov said.
The opposition leader said he was planning to open both a criminal and a libel case against the police officer who he says beat him and falsely accused him.
"From my side, I'm planning to present two complaints, to start criminal procedures. The first one against officers who illegally detained me, and then beat me. And second, it's a libel case against the officer who accused me of this most ridiculous charge," Kasparov said.
The Putin critic was among close to 100 protesters who were detained on Friday outside the Pussy Riot verdict reading, according to media reports. He claims that he had been peacefully giving an interview to journalists when he was detained.
The charges of assaulting a police officer are punishable with a jail sentence of up to five years in Russia.