An imam who broke a memorial on a policeman's grave detained in Dagestan

Suleiman Gadjiev, imam of the local mosque in the settlement of Guni, Kazbek district, who broke a portrait on the headstone of a police officer killed by gunmen was detained, law enforcement bodies of the republic reported.

It should be reminded that on August, 1, 2011, Umar Temirkaev, senior police lieutenant, commander of the Platoon of public security of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of the Russian Federation in Khasavyurt district of the republic, was killed by unidentified people in the settlement of Stalskoye, Kizikyurt district of the republic.

According to a representative of law enforcement bodies, the lost officer's colleagues together with his relatives set a tombstone with a photo in his memory.

The other day his relatives visiting the cemetery saw that the portrait on the tombstone was broken. Operative agents found out that the act of vandalism was committed by the imam of the local mosque Suleiman Gadjiev. Law enforcement bodies informed that the question of starting criminal proceedings against the clergyman was under consideration. He is detained and has already made confessionary statements.

In so doing the imam declared to the police personnel that he did not regret for his action because Islam "prohibits portraying a human being on memorials". Besides, the clergyman stated that he was going to do the same with other tombstones in the rural cemetery.

The perished Umar Temirkaev's father said that he and his family could not even imagine that the officer's grave would be treated is such a sacrilegious way, the more so, that it could be done by an imam of a mosque.

Religious Board of Moslems of Dagestan declined comment on the incident.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported other cases of vandalism when graves in the cemeteries were defaced. In particular, at night of April, 17, 2011, about 40 destroyed and injured memorials were found in Northern cemetery of Rostov-on-Don, among them tombstones in memory of participants of the Great Patriotic War. The suspects were detained. A criminal case is currently under consideration in Voroshilov district court of Rostov-on-Don.

In May, 2010, eight tombstones and a wooden cross were damaged in the cemetery of the settlement of Verkhnyaya Tatarka, Shpakov district of Stavropol region. Among the damaged tombstones there were graves of participants of the Great Patriotic War. The infringers turned out to be two pupils of primary school who regretted on what they did.