MOSCOW, August 10 (RAPSI) – Victims in a torture case have appealed a ruling of the Nalchik Garrison Military Court sentencing seven law enforcement officers of Russia’s Ingushetia Republic to prison terms ranging from 3 to 10 years, lawyer Andrey Sabinin has told RAPSI.

The lawyer noted that victims believe the sentence was too mild, especially in the light of recent changes to Russian legislation decreasing real prison terms.

Employees of the Center for Counteracting Extremism (“Center E”) of the Interior Ministry’s Directorate for the Republic of Ingushetia as well as regional Federal Security Service (FSB) directorate, depending on their individual actions, were charged with murder, robbery, extortion, burglary, theft of documents, forging of documents, and abuse of office using violence leading to grave consequences.

According to investigators, the law enforcement officers used violence against a cashier of a bank and his wife, demanding their victims to confess to organizing and committing robbery of Rosselkhozbank regional branch in Ingushetia.

Investigators found that the victims were harshly beaten with a cashier being at one point asphyxiated, resulting in his death. Investigators believe that the criminals were responsible for numerous other crimes.

The court sentenced the former head of the Center’s regional directorate Timur Khamkhoyev to 7 years in a regular penal colony. The Center’s employee Alikhan Bekoyev was sentenced to 10 years in a high security penal colony, while his former colleague Andrey Beznosyuk received a 6-year prison term. Yet another officer of the Center Isa Aspiyev was sentenced to 5.5 years in jail.

Ex-FSB employee Mustaf Tsaroyev was sentenced to 5 years in a regular penal colony. Ex-head of a local police station received a 3-year prison term. The former deputy head of the Center’s directorate Sergey Khandogin received a 3-year suspended term.