21:42, 14 May 2004

Trial in case on murders of policemen started in Makhachkala

A trial in the case on murders of police officers started in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan on May 13. Over ten officers have been killed for the last year. Most of them are officers of the department for struggle against extremism and organized crime. Some prisoners at the bar admit that they had arms and were connected with Wahhabis, representatives of the religious doctrine prohibited in Dagestan. But all of them claim they are not guilty of murdering the officers. Relatives of accused Labazan Labazanov, Murtuzali Magomedov, and others say the detainees underwent torture: they were forced to dig graves for themselves, their nails were extracted, and teeth were grinded off. "There are no normal people in the police. They don't understand one mustn't earn ranks and money using people's sorrow," a sister of one of the accused men said. It should be noted that rumors about the high-handedness prevailing in this department have been circulating in the republic for a long time, and the murders of the officers are believed to be the revenge for torture and persecution of Wahhabis.

Author: Abdurakhman Yunusov, CK correspondent

Source: Caucasian Knot