Father brutally beats, kicks 6-year-old for not doing push-ups during home workout as mother films abuse
A horrific video shows a dad beating his six-year-old son, allegedly for refusing to do push-ups during a home workout during quarantine in Russia.
Emilbek Zhunusov, 35, brutally beat the young boy on Thursday, April 16, at their home in Moscow. He and his wife had left their native Kyrgyzstan for the Russian capital in October and had been working as janitors.
In footage obtained by the Mirror, Zhunusov can be seen hitting his son with his fists before kicking him and forcibly pushing him onto the floor. He then continues hitting the young boy on the head even as he whimpers, cries, and tries to shield his face with his hands.
Furious he's being resisted, the 35-year-old grabs a metal stick and threatens the six-year-old with it, but is stopped by a relative who comes in and begs for him to stop. The distressing video ends with the boy being kicked as he's lying helplessly on the floor.
The incident was reportedly filmed by the boy's 33-year-old mother and wife of the abuser, who reportedly did nothing to stop the abuse as she approved of the punishment.
She then posted the clip online and claimed it highlighted "the right way to educate a child." She also said that "everybody beat their children to raise a good person."
The video evoked a furious reaction on social media and was heavily criticized, following which Zhunusov doubled down and defended his actions by stating it was okay as it was his son and not anyone else's.
"I said to him [the boy] to do push-ups but he refused," he claimed. "I did not beat him hard. He did not get any injuries. The child didn't even feel anything and doesn't hold a grudge against me."
"Everybody beat their children to raise a good person," he continued. "I was beating my own child, not somebody else's one. We are a friendly and happy family."
But the reasoning did not convince the police, who promptly arrested him and launched a criminal case for the torture of a minor against him.
This past Wednesday, April 22, he was produced at the Kuntsevo District Court, where a prosecutor said that a medical examination had revealed several bruises on the child's body.
When given a chance to speak, the 35-year-old told the judge, "I did not beat my son. I educated him."
He was subsequently remanded into custody for two months. His son was returned to the custody of his wife but will be monitored by local social services, who will also keep an eye on the couple's three other children.
Angelina Jolie had previously spoken out about how children are at particular risk during this COVID-19 pandemic as they were "especially vulnerable to so many of the secondary impacts of the pandemic on society."
The actress, 44, said the social distancing that has been necessary to stop COVID-19 would inadvertently result in a direct rise in trauma and suffering for vulnerable children as isolating the victim from family and friends was a well-known tactic used by abusers.
She said that, right now, children would be "deprived of the very support networks that help them cope: from their trusted friends and teachers to after-school sports activities and visits to a beloved relative’s house that provide an escape from their abusive environment."