In Chechnya, four MIA officers are accused of extortion

Four law enforcers of the Chechen Republic will face trial for extortion and excess of official powers. A high-ranking militia officer and his three subordinates are accused of illegal detention and extortion of a large sum of money from two local entrepreneurs.

"The Prosecutor's Office of the republic has opened a criminal case against the first deputy head of the ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Nozhai-Yurt District, who is also the head of the district criminal militia, and three militia officers, accused of illegal detention of two entrepreneurs, beating them to force them to confess of the crime they never committed and extortion from them of 500,000 roubles," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the local MIA.

It was established that in January this year the above militiamen illegally detained two local residents engaged in entrepreneurial activities. By applying physical pressure to the detainees, they forced the detainees to plead guilty of illegal circulation of weapons. Having knocked out the required confessions and having forced them to sign documents, the militiamen started extorting, a couple of days later, 500,000 roubles from the newly-made criminals for "stopping the criminal case."

According to the source from the MIA, the victims of militiamen's illegal actions addressed the law enforcement bodies. "After that, the criminals with shoulder straps were detained. A criminal case was opened against them and is now being investigated. All the four militia officers are accused of extortion and excess of service powers. They are under threat of long imprisonment terms," said the source.

Activists of local NGOs assert that in Chechnya practically any detention of a suspected offender is accompanied by beatings and mockeries practiced by power agents. Detainees are beaten, tortured and forced, under threat of other violent actions, to confess of the crimes they never committed. Very seldom these facts become public; moreover, an object of investigation by respective agencies.