Russian Major Igor Matveyev of the Interior Ministry, the man who claimed Russian soldiers were being given dog food to eat, has been convicted of abuse of power and sentenced to four years in prison.
In June, Matveyev posted videos of cans of dog food that had been relabeled as canned meat.
Matveyev was found guilty of striking lower-ranking officers in February, one of whom Matveev claimed was selling narcotics. Prosecutors said Matveyev made up the dog food story to deflect attention from the incidents with the subordinate officers.
Speaking ahead of today's court session, Matveyev told journalists, "Military prosecution and court officials have made this case so complicated that it is going to be difficult to establish the truth and find out who exactly hit soldier [Pavel] Lukanin."
The Vladivostok court that convicted Matveev also ordered that he be stripped of his military rank and pay a fine of 25,000 rubles ($840).
with agency reports
In June, Matveyev posted videos of cans of dog food that had been relabeled as canned meat.
Matveyev was found guilty of striking lower-ranking officers in February, one of whom Matveev claimed was selling narcotics. Prosecutors said Matveyev made up the dog food story to deflect attention from the incidents with the subordinate officers.
Speaking ahead of today's court session, Matveyev told journalists, "Military prosecution and court officials have made this case so complicated that it is going to be difficult to establish the truth and find out who exactly hit soldier [Pavel] Lukanin."
The Vladivostok court that convicted Matveev also ordered that he be stripped of his military rank and pay a fine of 25,000 rubles ($840).
with agency reports