St. Petersburg police said the officer who beat up and insulted peaceful protesters at a banned rally July 31 was “impolite and not tactful,” lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny reported on his blog Wednesday.
The officer, nicknamed the “Pearl Ensign” by bloggers for a bracelet he was wearing, faced “strict disciplinary punishment” over the incident, the police added in a written reply to Navalny’s request to investigate the man’s actions. It did not elaborate on the nature of the penalty. Navalny posted a copy of the reply on his blog.
St. Petersburg police said they cleared the officer, Vadim Boiko, of wrongdoing. But the Investigative Committee later said the officer — who himself was beaten up by an unidentified attacker last week — may face up to 10 years in prison for abuse of authority.