Wife of detained Ural man gives new version of scientist clash
Nikita Zezin (left) died in the hospital; Alexander Reveruk (right) was detained afterward
The wife of detained Yekaterinburg resident Alexander Reveruk, charged in a criminal case following a conflict with scientist and director of the Ural Federal Agrarian Scientific Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (UrFANIC UrO RAS) Nikita Zezin, denies that her husband was involved in his death. The woman told E1.RU her version of the brawl that occurred on 13 July.
Alexander previously served in the State Traffic Inspectorate
«Here is what actually happened. The boys rode up to that field on quad bikes; it was a pea field, black, soaked by rain. There was nothing there. Suddenly two men started chasing them, my child nearly flipped over, then the children were grabbed and forcibly shoved into a car. They grabbed them by the scruff of the neck, threatened them with a stick, and wouldn»t let them call anyone. I personally tried to reach my son, but the answering machine picked up, and I tracked him by the clock. Then one of the teenagers had his phone taken away so they could call the parents,« said Svetlana Reveruk.
The conflict was captured on video
According to her, the scientists called Arkady, Alexander«s friend. They told him the children were being taken to the research center. The teenagers» parents rushed there immediately to pick them up.
«When my husband arrived, he asked [Zezin], »Why did you take the children by force?« He couldn»t answer. My husband did not kick him — every child is ready to confirm that. We are ready to take a polygraph; the children were frightened and could not even say a word. My husband slapped him and pushed him. By that point we had already called the National Guard, everything is documented. We have call logs, recordings, printouts of phone calls, and evidence that we were threatened. They told us we had to come and beg on our knees for forgiveness,« Svetlana continued.
After the incident, the family went to the police with a report of child abduction. But, according to Svetlana, law enforcement did not accept it.
«The children were forcibly shoved into a car and not allowed to call their parents. They were told, »We«ll bring you up with a stick.» We had the injuries documented. Each of the five children will go to the Investigative Committee and give testimony; we are ready for a polygraph. The children suffered psychological stress; one did not sleep all night,« our interlocutor noted.
Alexander Reveruk was detained on 28 July. Police arrived at his office and said he was being summoned for questioning. According to his wife, he agreed and voluntarily went with them. However, there he was told he would be detained and sent to a temporary detention facility. He was charged with hooliganism (Part 2 of Article 213 of the Russian Criminal Code).
It is known that the detainee is the founder of the company Zhivoy Istok, which collects and processes wastewater. He previously served in the State Traffic Inspectorate (GAI), but was dismissed in 2011 after accidentally shooting a colleague in the groin in a service vehicle.
«My husband hired a man who returned from the special military operation and could not find a job anywhere. Sasha helps the special military operation a lot; recently he bought and sent a drone there. Before that, he delivered helmets and bulletproof vests. I personally looked for antennas that the soldiers needed,» Svetlana Reveruk noted.
Nikita Zezin was hospitalized after the brawl. He died on 22 July. The preliminary cause of death was a heart attack. However, Svetlana Reveruk claims the scientist died of kidney stone disease (her information has no official confirmation)
When Sverdlovsk deputy Vyacheslav Wegner brought the story to public attention, law enforcement detained Alexander Reveruk. In this article, we have compiled everything known about the suspect.
All news on the topic is collected in a special feature.
