NOVOSIBIRSK, February 1 (RIA Novosti, Maxim Koshmarchuk) - Military prosecutors in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk have decided against opening a criminal case against the commanders of a military unit where a private is alleged to have been attacked, Prosecutor Pavel Bukhtoyarov said Wednesday.
Valery Makhnovsky, conscripted in May 2005, was hospitalized January 14 after allegedly being beaten by Senior Sergeant Stepan Khodorov.
Military prosecutors opened a criminal case against the purported attacker January 17 but decided to take disciplinary measures against the commanders of the military unit, Bukhtoyarov said, adding that Makhnovsky had been transferred to another military unit "to prevent psychological pressure."
Khodorov, who claims that he beat the soldier for neglecting his duties, facing three to ten years in prison if convicted.
