Soldier, suspected of desertion, hospitalized after visiting Dagestan with investigators

Andrei Popov, a soldier from Saratov, who claims to have been kept in slavery in brick factories in Dagestan for 11 years, was hospitalized after returning from a trip to Dagestan.

"Now I'm at the military unit, I'm examined by the doctors. I managed to get hospitalized. I've got acute gastritis, I cannot eat fatty food," the "SarInform" quotes Andrei Popov as saying.

"They are going to send Andrei Popov to the examination to the Saratov Psychoneurologic Hospital. This is done to partially or completely disavow the Popov's evidence. If he is found mentally unhealthy, then the soldier's testimony could not be used in the trial," the "Saratovnews" quotes Lidiya Sviridova, Chairperson of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers, as saying.

According to Andrei Popov, during the trip to Dagestan, the delegation from Saratov was pressured and they had to work in a very tense atmosphere, the newspaper "Saratovsky Vzglyad" (Saratov View) reports.

"They treated us as their bitter enemies. They hired no guards for us, no one. There were two investigators, a lawyer and I. We trembled for our lives," Andrei Popov said.

According to Andrei's relatives, Dagestani investigators are very close acquaintances of the directors of factories and "in the evenings they practically visit restaurants together."

"During a month before the investigation, they - our investigators and their investigators - visited all the factories there. I specially looked around while riding, it was clear that many factories do not work for a month already," Andrei Popov stated.

According to Andrei Popov, "now they all will talk way out of it."