In Dagestan, court finds three policemen guilty of beating teenager

Today, the Shamil District Court of Dagestan has sentenced three policemen, accused of brutal beating of Makhmud Akhmedov, 14.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court session scheduled for May 17 failed because of the absence of the defendant Magomed Magomedov. Judge Khaibulaev from the Shamil District Court has ruled to place him behind bars.

The policemen Magomed Magomedov, Gamzat Nurudinov and Shamil Magomedov have been found guilty under part 2, Article 286 (abuse of power) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The court has sentenced Shamil Magomedov to 2.5 years of imprisonment with a 1 year delay; Gamzat Nurudinov - to 3 years of imprisonment with a 1 year delay. The chief defendant - the district militiaman Magomed Magomedov - was sentenced to 4 years of imprisonment with 2 years of delay.

Aziz Kurbanov, the victim's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that henceforth Magomed Magomedov has no right to work in law enforcement bodies.

The defendants refused to admit their guilt; it is not yet known whether the verdict will be appealed against.

According to an employee of the Shamil ROVD, who asked to preserve his anonymity, the case "would have been peacefully braked down" if not for its broad publicity. "There are pretty plenty of such 'abuses' not only in our region but elsewhere across the Caucasus. And what - do they try all the power agents? These guys just got 'under hot hand'; they were just unlucky," said the source.