11:32, 1 February 2008

Vice-commander of Sochi's Lazarevskoe ROVD: OMON raid to children's camp in July 2006 was illegitimate

Sergey Saveliev, second commander of the Lazarevskoe ROVD (District Militia Unit) of the city of Sochi, asserts that the raid in July 2006 of the OMON (Special-Task Militia) to the "Druzhba" (Friendship) children's camp located in Nizhnee Makopse village was unjustified. He made this statement at the regular session of the court in the Krasnodar Territory, where eight OMON fighters are now trialled under charges of beating young tourists during the above raid. Ilya Melkonyan, father of one of the victims, told this story to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Mr Melkonyan told that Sergey Saveliev had explained to the Lazarevskoe District Court that the Nizhnee Makopse village of the Lazarevskoe District of Sochi, and moreover - the Children's Health Improving Complex (CHIC) "Druzhba" - were not considered to be criminogenic, therefore, the raid of Sochi OMON there had no grounds.

Author: Vyacheslav Feraposhkin, CK correspondent