"He complained to a friend that he was going to kill himself"

The deceased was an ordinary teenager: he loved music, played on his phone, and spent a lot of time with friends in the garage, the teenager's mother told Izvestia. He invited a local girl to one of these gatherings. She didn't tell her family where she was going, which they didn't like. As a result, her cousin gathered a few guys and they went to sort things out. The conflict was filmed on video.

"Who do you think you are? Did you take responsibility for taking the girl for a walk back and forth, home to your place for the night? Her mom, dad, and sister are looking for her, why didn't you tell them?" one of the uninvited guests asks the boy.

The clearly terrified teenager was knocked to the ground, and then kicked, spat on, and urinated on. The video of the incident was posted on the Internet, after which it quickly spread on social networks. The boy studied at the same school with some of the abusers, his family said. Therefore, the harassment continued in the educational institution. According to his cousin, the boy had been bullied there for a long time.

— A classmate wrote to him, "accept that you are a forshake," which means that he is disgraced, — said his sister.

After returning home from school, the boy committed suicide.

— He complained to a friend that he was going to kill himself. And a friend said: "Are you a fool or something," said the grief—stricken mother. — Apparently, this shame was a stone on his heart. A friend called him, but he didn't pick up the phone anymore.

The boy never complained about problems at school, his mother assured him.

— Apparently, he kept everything to himself, he didn't tell me anything. Maybe they were scaring him that if you tell Mom, we'll kill you. It's not for nothing that they say that you can't keep quiet about this, you always have to tell, share with your family. If he had just told me, I would have gone straight to the showdown at school," the woman said.

"Disgraced the whole country"

"Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, drew attention to the high-profile case and demanded a report from the head of the republican department of the Investigative Committee on the progress of the investigation.

The boy's relatives are sure that it was the actions of other teenagers that drove him to suicide. The mother and sister recorded an appeal demanding that all those involved be held accountable.

— My cousin was driven to suicide by humiliation, harassment, beatings, insults. All this was filmed, but after the incident, all the videos were deleted from the Internet. There is a fragment of an incomplete video, sent to me by a caring person. We doubt the actions of the law enforcement agencies, as the death certificate was issued without the time of death," the boy's sister says in the video. — They refused to give us a certificate of record of beatings, referring to the fact that an investigation is underway.

The tormentors purposefully came to the victim to mock, take a video and send it out in order to humiliate the child, the girl added. She calls the victim's girlfriend the reason for the harassment.

— Everyone who took part was interrogated and released. The investigation is stalling. We don't know what will happen next," she says.

The mother, in turn, added that the boy was disgraced throughout the country.

Villagers told Izvestia that the teenagers who filmed the video and bullied the victim had been acting aggressively for a long time. They were complained about at school, and the villagers and their children suffered from them. However, no serious measures were taken.

A few days after the tragedy, one of the participants in the beating disappeared. The teenager, who is only 14 years old, is being sought by volunteers and law enforcement agencies.

The boy's mother told Izvestia that they "decided to blame him" for the incident.

— There is a punishment for action and inaction. He considered himself insanely guilty for not protecting the beaten man. He said to me, "Mom, I should have lain down on him and closed him up," the woman said.

According to her, she and her son had time to discuss what had happened, but now she does not know where he is.

— My son was standing aside. There were also girls who were filming, but no one talks about it," the woman said.

What awaits those responsible for bullying a teenager

The Sarpinsky district administration called the reports of bullying fake in its social networks. The officials referred to the words allegedly spoken at a meeting of the interdepartmental working group on juvenile affairs and protection of their rights.

Konstantin Antokhov, head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Kalmykia, explained the situation: "We do not see any signs of bullying in any of them. There was a conflict in the village of Sadovoye, which was incorrectly resolved by senior comrades," the officials said in a statement on March 19.

However, on March 20, the Office of the Investigative Committee for Kalmykia issued a message that, as part of the investigation into the death of a teenager, Konstantin Antokhov would hold a visiting reception of citizens in Sadovoye "according to reports of bullying in educational institutions of the Sarpinsky district." The heads of the republican Ministry of Education and Science and the local Commissioner for Children's Rights will listen to the people together with him.

"The Investigative Department urges everyone who has information about bullying cases not to stand aside and make an appointment," they stressed.

If the participants in the incident on the video are found guilty of a crime, their age will play a key role, lawyer Igor Goretsky told Izvestia.

— If they are under the age of 14, they will not be prosecuted. They can be placed in a temporary isolation center for juvenile delinquents. If they have reached the age of 14, they may be subject to criminal sanctions," he stressed.

Although criminal liability begins at the age of 16, there are exceptions to some articles, the lawyer recalled. Such articles include the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on driving to suicide. The maximum penalty is 15 years in prison.

— But the question is who exactly will be held accountable. This is a rather complicated article. A lot depends on the preliminary investigation and the work of law enforcement agencies, collecting evidence that there were some events that prompted the person to do this," Igor Goretsky said.

In addition, according to him, a criminal case on causing harm to health may be initiated upon the beating.

— Those who were nearby at the time of the beating will be brought in as witnesses. And their explanations will determine their status in this criminal case. The distribution of this video may be bullying, which could lead to suicide," the lawyer explained.

If teenagers are prosecuted under any article, then there is a high probability that their parents will also be held accountable under an administrative article for failing to fulfill their parenting duties.

— The fine is small, but the consequences of this article are the foundation for the issue of deprivation of parental rights. This is a preventive measure on the part of the state and law enforcement agencies to understand if the problem is definitely with the child himself, or if the problem may be with the parents," he stressed.

In addition, it is possible that the parents of the perpetrators will pay compensation to the relatives of the deceased boy. The school where the boy studied will not be ignored either: management and teaching staff may undergo inspections, and officials may be held accountable.

The legislation of the Russian Federation currently does not contain definitions of such an offense as bullying or bullying, but actions that constitute the objective side of bullying can be qualified under several articles of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, lawyer Alexey Gavrishev added.

"Criminal liability may arise under the article on hooliganism, that is, for gross violation of public order, expressing obvious disrespect for society, committed, among other things, with the use of violence," he stressed.

In this case, according to Gavrishev, a person who has reached the age of sixteen at the time of the commission of the crime is subject to prosecution, and for committing hooliganism under aggravating circumstances — 14 years.

Draft law on bullying prevention

On March 19, the head of Kalmykia, Batu Khasikov, called on local officials to pay attention "to a possible complex omission in the organization of educational work in educational institutions." He instructed the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic to hold meetings with parents and students in schools, answer their questions, give feedback, and develop a support system for them in difficult situations.

"They also pointed out the importance of strengthening the work of parenting advisers with a comprehensive assessment of their activities, the development of digital resources to help children in bullying situations and other problems," the press service of the Government of the republic said.

The bill on the prevention of bullying and the introduction of liability for harassment will be sent to the government for conclusion in the coming days, the author of the initiative, the head of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, Artem Metelev, told Izvestia.

It is proposed to introduce the concept of "harassment" into the legislation, and to bring its organizers to administrative responsibility under the article on insult. The document also proposes to oblige employees of educational institutions to inform the regional commissions on juvenile affairs and protection of their rights about the facts of harassment.

— The other day, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko visited the State Duma, to whom we appealed so that such a law could be adopted and supported. He assured that such work will be carried out," the deputy stressed.

Earlier, Tatyana Moskalkova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, called for the introduction of responsibility for bullying.

For a child who is faced with bullying, it is very important that parents are there for him, provide support and take his side, psychologist Natalia Naumova explained to Izvestia.

— It is important to inform the homeroom teacher about the situation and inform the administration. Involve a school psychologist, start working with the classroom to stop bullying," she stressed.

In some cases, the best response to bullying may be to ignore it, in which case the abusers will simply lose interest.

— But if they spoil the child's property, they beat him, there is no point in remaining silent and boycotting. There is a need to resist. It is important to inform the school administration about such facts so that they work with parents and children. If this does not help, then contact the police, go to the emergency room to take beatings," the specialist said.

The problem of bullying needs to be solved comprehensively, says Tatyana Butskaya, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for Family Protection.

— There is a law on mediation, but it does not work well even at the divorce level: there is no list of mediators, consultations are paid. In school, mediators would be very helpful to understand and help in bullying situations, but there is no mediator position in the school. A psychologist is not a mediator," she explained.

In the case of bullying, you need to work with different groups, different views on the same situation and bring everyone to the right decision, added Tatiana Butskaya. In the near future, it is necessary to develop and adopt a law on school mediators, she believes.