A Moscow police officer has been sentenced for raping the friend of a murderer after failing to find the prime suspect in her apartment. Police Major Dmitry Moskalev and Lieutenant Alrksander Kopylov arrived at the apartment expecting to find the murderer. When the officers found that the criminal was no longer at her friend’s flat they took out their anger on the hostess by raping her and stealing petty valuables.
The whole story took place on the November 7 holiday last year. After a 34-year old Muscovite was stabbed to death in his own apartment a group of two operatives from a local police station set off for the murder scene. The senior officer, Major Moskalev, was also head of staff in the local department of the Interior Ministry.
It soon became clear that the man had been killed by his wife. The woman herself called the police from a friend’s home and confessed. She also told the police the address of her friend’s flat and promised to wait for somebody to come and arrest her.
Thus, Moskalev and Kopylov had to change direction and head to a new destination instead of the crime scene. This apparently put the policemen in a bad mood, though they should have been grateful that the case had been solved so quickly. When they arrived to pick up the suspect, however, it turned out that she was not there – the woman had grown tired of waiting and decided to go to the police herself.
The officers then decided to vent their anger on the killer’s friend. They searched her flat, robbing the woman of some of her rather humble possessions – a watch, two mobile phones and 500 roubles in cash (slightly over $15 at the time). The hostess tried to get help from her neighbours and to reason with the officers herself. However, one of the officers, Moskalev, pushed the woman into a room and raped her, after which the law enforcers left.
Sadly, what makes the story particularly unique is the fact that the two officers were actually detained, charged and sentenced for their crime. Chertanovo District Court sentenced Moskalev to 6 years in prison and Kopylov to 5.5 years.
There are many cases of arbitrariness and violence from the police. A recent poll among Russians and foreigners showed that the police force is viewed just as much a threat as the criminals they are supposed to arrest. Moskovsky Komsomolets
