Natives of Chechnya and Dagestan detained after brawl in cemetery in Moscow

Natives of Chechnya and Dagestan are suspected of organizing of and participating in a mass brawl in the Khovanskoye Cemetery; criminal cases have been initiated against them, said a law enforcement source.

According to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), on May 14, in the Khovanskoye Cemetery in Moscow, a mass brawl took place with participation of about 200 persons.

"Policemen detained about 90 people, and took them to police stations to clarify the circumstances," says the website of the MIA of Russia.

According to eyewitnesses, on May 14, armed young men broke into the territory of the cemetery and opened fire at the workers, most of whom were natives of the countries of Central Asia.

To suppress the mass riots alarm, the Moscow OMON (riot police) was alerted; and the cemetery was cordoned off by the police.

According to a Moscow law enforcement source, "as a result of the fight, a 22-year-old citizen of Tajikistan died from a gunshot wound." Besides, a 42-year-old newcomer and an unidentified man were killed in a car collision, the "Interfax" reports referring to the source.

The source has added that after the brawl, natives of Chechnya and Dagestan were detained, who are considered to be "among the organizers of the brawl."

The police have also announced a search for a certain Lechiya Yahhyaev, a native of the village of Bolkhuny, the Astrakhan Region. As suspected by law enforcers, he was the organizer of the mass riots, the "Rosbalt" reports.

According to the participants of the conflict, the brawl was caused "by an attempt to force the workers of the cemetery to pay 'tribute' to the ethnic grouping on a regular basis."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.