A toddler who was bodyslammed to the ground by a thug at an international airport has opened his eyes after more than a week.
Shocking CCTV footage of the attack at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on June 23 showed the 18-month-old leaning against a suitcase.
Suddenly, Belarusian Vladimir Vitkov, 31, a nuclear power plant construction worker, picked up and hurled little Yazdan on the ground.
After a brief spasm, the boy, named Yazdan, becomes motionless as someone picks him up in their arms to keep him safe.
The tot had arrived in Russia minutes earlier after he and his mother fled the bombing in Iran, according to local reports.
Local media have now said Yazdan has opened his eyes and is breathing on his own, but is still in intensive care.
His father, Mohammed Shahim, said yesterday: ‘Two hours ago, he was disconnected from the ventilator. Doctors say that he will remain in intensive care until tomorrow.
‘He regained consciousness, opened his eyes, but is not saying anything yet. I am here every second, I am with him 24/7.’
Chief physician at Moscow’s L.M. Roshal Children’s Clinical Centre, Tatyana Shapovalenko, said: ‘The child was extubated, meaning that the boy is now breathing on his own with a high flow of oxygen.’
31-year-old Vitkov remains in custody and has reportedly refused to apologise to Yazdan’s family.
Yazdan’s father, Mohammed, said: ‘He is not a man, he is Satan, he is Shaitan. He mocked us: me, my wife.’
Vitkov was reportedly high on drugs and told the police he was a schizophrenia patient.
The Belarusian was reported by some outlets to have been on the same flight as the child and his mother, who were escaping from Iran, where they had been visiting relatives.
Initial reports found he was returning home through Moscow after failing a drug and alcohol check for a job in Egypt.
Vitkov later confessed to being high on drugs when he threw the toddler head-first onto the ground.
In police discussions, Vitkov seemingly confessed to the crime when asked to explain what he did.
He told an officer: ‘I attempted to murder a child… at Sheremetyevo Airport.’
When asked what his motive was, Vitkov said he ‘didn’t know’ because he was ‘under the influence of drugs’.
Reports said cannabis had been found in his possession, and there were traces of the drug in his blood.
Mash news outlet reported today that he had drunk three bottles of whisky and obtained cannabis in Cairo before the incident.
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