In the Kemerovo area group of people sentenced for slavery
21.09.2007 01:53 | the Russian Newspaper
Today (on Friday) the defendants were convicted on unprecedented criminal case for Kuzbas Russian region concerning businessmen-slaveholders who forced homeless people to work on timber cuttings. Two sick slaves, who could not work because of health problems any more, have been hammered to death. The fourth have been killed at attempt to run away.
On the trial state prosecutor insisted on the maximal term - 25 years in prison. Reading of a verdict took two days.
The regional Office of Public Prosecutor charged four people under eight clauses of the Criminal code, including the use of a slave labor and illegal deprivation of the person freedom which have lead to death.
In Chebulinskom County of the Kemerovo area there were slaves and slaveholders.T his became known in the spring of 2004 when one of slaves managed to escape from the owners in village Usmanka and reported to the local policeman. Alexander - one of injured, but the survived slaves - has told what was going on in forest stations of the Nikolaev forest area almost for a year. There four gangs have illegally organized cutting down and processing of a birch, an aspen, a larch, a pine and a fir. They made lumber which was illegally sold in Mariinsk city for 600 rubles (15$) for cubic meter. This year the damage of the sum over six millions rubles has been caused to a forest area. But the most terrible was in other - in murders.
The organizer of illegal business and the direct participant of all crimes had been named Alexander Mirzaev from settlement Top-Chibula. Victor Tsurban who was living there on probation after prison , carried out specific functions. He was engaged in search and recruitment of workers-slaves for heavy works of a tree felling. Two others - Igor Timofeev and Evgenie Pavlov - supervise slaves. Quite often they did it with such brutality that slave became sick and cannot work from the received traumas.
Victor Tsurban selected people with skill. Usually the choice fell on the fallen men, without family and the certain residence. This was quite justified: the homeless people who do not have relatives, hardly somebody will look for. They was promised good housing and 150 (4$) rubles of payment per day. And they agree thinking this is stable work. Nobody was paid. Workers worked almost round the clock and fed once a day. They were given piece of bread, and instead of water - a baked snow in the morning. Slaves leaved in a trailer and slept on bare flour. On requests to release them they were answered with threats which were executed if someone tried to run away. The running slaves were quickly found and brutally bitten almost to death.
People were bitten regularly - even for slow work in opinion of owners. They were bitten by anything will turn up under a hand: a breakage, lumber piece, metal pipe. When the person became handicapped, they simply got rid of him. One slave was killed with an axe, another - already half-dead - was poured with gasoline and burn alive.
Killed were quickly replaced, and all started again. One of slaves after unsuccessful escape attempt was fastened with a cord to the car and was dragged after it. Laiter he began to complain of the broken ribs and sad that it is painful to work. He was kicked to the ground and they start beating him on ribs. He not survived for long. One more person in his 70th has died of numerous beatings...

Marina Klariss, the Kemerovo area