06 March 2008, 16:16
Former troopers who beat Turkish builders in Krasnodar receive conditional terms
On March 4, a verdict was passed in Krasnodar to former troopers who beat Turkish construction workers.
All the five defendants were sentenced to 6 months of conditional imprisonment each. Sergey Bykov, Judge of the Leninskiy District Court, has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the verdict was passed under Part 2, Article 116, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Bodily blows inflicted out of hooligan intentions"). Thus, the court rejected the version of ethnic enmity.
Earlier, the former servicemen of the landing troops Arthur Aleschenko, Oleg Aleschenko, Alexander Buzhenko, Alexei Matveenko and Arthur Ruzavin were accused under Article 213 of Section 2: "Hooliganism accomplished by a group of persons on preliminary conspiracy". Crimes under this Article assume up to 7 years of imprisonment. However, later the charge was re-qualified.
The investigation has established that in the evening on August 2 last year, on the Land Troops' Day, the young men arrived in two cars to the construction site of the LLC "Dzhenk", where Turks, Uzbeks, Tadjiks and Turkmens work. They knocked down the security guard, rushed into the canteen and hostel, where they broke the window glasses and beat the builders.
During the litigation the relatives of former soldiers appealed to local human rights activists and journalists. However, after a talk with Judge Sergey Bykov they gave up the idea. At one of the court sessions they insisted that the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent should leave the courtroom.
The "Caucasian Knot" has already informed that the former troopers had rejected the charges and said that the Turkish builders had been the first to touch on their honour and started the fight.
Author: Evgeniy Titov, CK correspondent
