Pukhaev brothers, accused of putsch, self-stab in Tskhinvali IVS

On August 11, Igor and Batyr Pukhaev, kept in the temporary isolation facility (known as IVS) in Tskhinvali and accused of treason and a coup d'etat attempt, were taken to the Republic's Somatic Hospital (RSH) with cut wounds of the abdomen. On the same day, the medical help rendered, they were sent back to detention, said Mairbeg Kokoev, the chief physician of the RSH.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the South-Ossetian businessman Batyr Pukhaev and his brother Igor, an ex-MP of South Ossetia, were detained on July 11; and on July 14 the Tskhinvali Court ruled to arrest the brothers for two months.

According to Kokoev, the brothers' self-mutilation was of suicidal character.

In the opinion of Otar Margiev, the head of the Tskhinvali IVS, the brothers cut their abdomens deliberately, but not for the purpose of suicide. He stressed that inmates are treated politely in his IVS.

Marina Kochieva, the Pukhaevs advocate, has also noted that she had communicated with her clients one day before the incident; and they expressed no complaints.

The criminal case against Pukhaev brothers is under inquiry at State Security Committee of South Ossetia.