In the Kostanay region, police searched for an illegal weapons manufacturing workshop in the village of Tagilskoye, Sarykol District. It later turned out that the tip-off was false. However, the actions of the law enforcement officers themselves raised questions among the victims.
According to the Telegram channel «Halyqstan», on 18 March, a local police officer called a local resident, Igor Volokon, and asked him to come out of his house. At the time, his wife Marina was busy with household chores.
“Soon my brother calls and asks: ‘What’s happened? There’s a whole bunch of police in your yard.’ I rush out of the house, see this crowd, and they say to me: ‘Do you know your husband is a dangerous criminal?’ I ask – on what grounds are they there, I demand an explanation, and they reply: ‘Since you are legally married, half the property belongs to your husband, and he is suspected of a serious crime. We are starting a search.’”, Marina Volokon recounted.
According to her, the police did not have a court-approved warrant for the search. The document only appeared two days later. The police later explained the delay as a technical issue: supposedly “the digital database froze”. Nevertheless, police officers demanded that Igor confess to manufacturing weapons. However, there was no evidence of this.
It is noted that the search of the Volokons’ home was carried out with violations: belongings were turned upside down, but in the end, only empty cartridge cases were found in the garage. Regarding the improper storage, the police drew up an administrative report. The searches then continued at the homes of the family’s relatives.
“I told them not to disturb the parents; they are both disabled, but the police carried on with their ‘work.’ All this happened in full view of the villagers. Can you imagine the rumours that started circulating around our village?”, the woman reported.
According to Marina Volokon, only after the first search did the investigators draw up a document concerning the search conducted without a warrant, but it only listed the address of their home. Later, the operational team went to the school where Igor works as a boiler operator, and then to his uncle’s house. They searched everywhere for weapons, but ultimately found nothing.
The criminal case under Article 287 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation or carrying of weapons, ammunition, explosive substances and explosive devices) was closed. However, the Volokons are now demanding explanations from the authorities.
“Our reasoning is this: if there was a tip-off against us, it turned out to be false. The police know who the informants are, and by law they should now be held accountable. But that hasn’t happened. Also, carrying out searches without warrants should have consequences. Our civil rights have been violated; we have been shamed throughout the entire settlement. Someone must answer for this.”, the statement reads.
The family has approached the prosecutor’s office, but according to them, their application was accepted with difficulty. Representatives of the supervisory authority tried to convince them that they had submitted an “unlawful complaint against an investigator who was carrying out his duties”. An official response from the prosecutor’s office has been promised within a month.