Rostov Region: soldier's father accuses officer of extortion

The Rostov Garrison Military Court is considering a complaint lodged by Valery Markaryan, father of a regular soldier, against the decision of the Military Public Prosecutor of the North-Caucasian Military District, who has cancelled the ruling to initiate a criminal case against Major of Justice Alexei Gvozdkov on charge with extorting a bribe of 3000 US dollars this September.

Mr Markaryan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in September his son Sergey Markaryan was sentenced by the Budennovsk Garrison Military Court to 4.5 years of imprisonment for driving his comrade-in-arms to suicide.

"We've lodged a cassation complaint, the verdict hasn't yet come into legal force," said Valery Markaryan. "However, still before the verdict, at the trial, Alexei Gvozdkov, officer at the military unit, where my son took his service, offered me to promote, for three thousand dollars, to a more lenient verdict, and promised to give money to the state accuser." After that, Valery Markaryan decided to address law enforcement bodies and lodged a complaint on instigation to bribery.

"They gave me a dictaphone and asked to record all the negotiations," Valery Markaryan explained. "On the appointed day I was about to hand over the money, but unexpectedly I received strange instructions from law enforcement officers: to say that I have no money on me. This inconsistent behaviour put the bribe-takers on the alert, and the bribe-giving was broke."