Investigators verify information about soldier's slavery at factory in Dagestan

Military investigators check information about holding soldier Andrei Popov as a slave at a brick factory in Dagestan.

The "Caucasian Knot" reported that on August 17 Andrei Popov, a regular soldier from the town of Ershov of Saratov Region, who had been in slavery in Dagestan since 2000 and escaped from there, was taken into custody as a deserter after his returning home. On August 25 in the evening, he was released from the detention facility.

"During three days already the investigators from Saratov are here at our place. They are interrogating each person, walking across the entire territory, examining all the rooms and cabins... Andrei Popov has never been to our place. It's all a lie or intentional slander, aimed at avoiding the accusation of defection," stated Magomed-Rasul Rasulov, the director of the LLC "South", busy with brick manufacturing.

The entrepreneur added that all brick factories were alike in Dagestan, all of them endeavour at modernization, compete with each other, and that there was no slavery in the republic.

"Most part of the work at my factory has already been automated. We have close relations with the German company, which supplies equipment for our factory, and 15 employees from my factory have already visited Germany for training on probation," Magomed-Rasul Rasulov has noted.

Magomed Radjabov, the director of another brick factory, said that he had already written an appeal addressed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika asking take the case under their personal control and give instructions to the relevant authorities to objectively investigate the incident.

"Even before the completion of the investigators' work and the announcement of their findings, by disseminating false information against the owners of brick factories in the city of Kaspiisk, Andrei Popov and his "well-wishers" represented by journalists, deputies, NGO representatives, and guy's supporters actually contribute to the incitement of hatred and enmity on a national basis," Magomed Radjabov stated.

Stanislav Mintyagov, the investigator of the military prosecutor's office of Saratov garrison, confirmed the fact of inspection of Popov's information about his slavery, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Meanwhile, Nina Lukashova, Human Rights Ombudsperson for Saratov Region, believes that the issue of the presence of slavery in the territory of the Russian Federation is premature.

"In the meantime, it's wrong to discuss this and to stand on anybody's side. This is the image of our country! We should have proof and evidence," the "Version-Saratov" quotes Ms Lukashova as saying.