BISHKEK -- Four police officers in southern Kyrgyzstan have been charged in connection with the death of a Russian citizen who was allegedly severely beaten while in police custody, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
The four are charged with torture, abuse of office, and extortion.
Usmanjan Kholmirzaev, an ethnic Uzbek, died in a Jalal-Abad regional hospital on August 9, two days after being questioned by Bazar-Korgon district police about the deadly clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in June last year.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on September 1 that three of those charged are from Jalal-Abad Oblast's Bazar-Korgon district police and the fourth is from the Jalal-Abad Oblast police department.
Previous reports said two policemen in Bazar-Korgon had been charged with abuse of office and premeditated damage to a person's health.
On August 22, the Interior Ministry announced that Bazar-Korgon police chief Ernist Moldokeev had been fired as a result of Kholmirzaev's death.
Read more in Kyrgyz here
The four are charged with torture, abuse of office, and extortion.
Usmanjan Kholmirzaev, an ethnic Uzbek, died in a Jalal-Abad regional hospital on August 9, two days after being questioned by Bazar-Korgon district police about the deadly clashes between local Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in June last year.
The Prosecutor-General's Office said on September 1 that three of those charged are from Jalal-Abad Oblast's Bazar-Korgon district police and the fourth is from the Jalal-Abad Oblast police department.
Previous reports said two policemen in Bazar-Korgon had been charged with abuse of office and premeditated damage to a person's health.
On August 22, the Interior Ministry announced that Bazar-Korgon police chief Ernist Moldokeev had been fired as a result of Kholmirzaev's death.
Read more in Kyrgyz here
