Relatives of a Novoshakhtinsk resident have secured an investigation into his death at the police station.

Two months later, investigators have finally opened a criminal case following the death of Alexei Shatov, a detainee, at a police station in the Rostov region. His relatives were informed of his death with the words "it just happened."

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on January 15, it was reported that a man detained on suspicion of robbery had died at a police station in Novoshakhtinsk. An acquaintance reported multiple injuries on the deceased's body.

The Anti-Torture Team* reported today that on February 10, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for abuse of power, resulting in the death of the victim or serious bodily harm through negligence.

08:14 January 20, 2026

The death of a man detained by security forces in Novoshakhtinsk has alarmed human rights activists

Investigators need to investigate the possibility that security forces were involved in the death of a detained Novoshakhtinsk resident, human rights activists said. The police statement that the man resisted arrest was contradicted by the information provided by the deceased's acquaintance.

“The ruling states that unidentified individuals from the Novoshakhtinsk Department of Internal Affairs abused their authority, which resulted in the infliction of serious bodily harm to Alexei Shatov. According to the forensic medical examination report, the cause of death was acute combined poisoning,” the human rights activists said in a statement.

According to them, the man also suffered serious injuries to his body—a fractured skull, intracranial hemorrhages, blunt trauma to the lower back, a subcapsular rupture of the right lobe of the liver, and numerous abrasions and bruises.

The human rights activists also cited Alexei Shatov's mother, who said that on the day of his death, the family tried to obtain information from the Novoshakhtinsk Department of Internal Affairs, but they were unresponsive and They kept saying, "They'll contact you." That evening, a car pulled up to the family's house, and two men got out.

"They told me about Alexey's death. They didn't give any reasons, just offered condolences and said, 'It just happened,'" Raisa Shatova was quoted as saying in a statement by human rights activists.

According to them, that same evening the family learned that Alexey had been at the Novaya Sokolovka police station the entire time, and that ambulances had arrived there twice. The first arrived at 9:28 a.m.—the crew gave the man an injection, and the second, after 11 a.m., was unable to help and pronounced him dead.

"Caucasian Knot" has reported on other deaths in custody by security forces in southern Russia. In several cases, police officers were accused of involvement in the deaths. On July 9, 2024, Akhmed Dzhabrailov, a member of the Akhmat special forces unit, died in the Sovietsky District Police Department of Makhachkala after being detained for disturbing the peace. According to investigators, Dzhabrailov was beaten and tasered. In January 2023, Makhachkala resident Kurban Dalgatov died after being detained in the same police department. The man received injuries before his death, the Ministry of Internal Affairs acknowledged.

 * are listed as foreign agents.