Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan analyses how law enforcers' combat kidnappings

The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Dagestan has analysed the results of the work of the law enforcement bodies of the Republic after 10 months of 2008 in fighting against kidnappings. Under the Office's information, in 2008, the law enforcement bodies of the Republic received 158 messages on kidnappings, of them the majority - 106 applications related to kidnapping of girls with the aim of forced marriage.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan: "In the overwhelming number of cases, after the check of girls' kidnapping messages or in the course of investigating a criminal case, it is established that in fact it was a staging of kidnapping upon the mutual consent of young persons." At the same time, the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan reports that cases have been registered of actual kidnapping of girls with the aim to force them into marriage. On such facts a total of 12 criminal cases were initiated, of them 4 criminal cases were sent to the court and guilty persons were convicted.

This year, three cases of child's kidnapping were registered.

The Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan has noted that special attention should be given to still continuing facts of young men's kidnappings, when friends and relatives of the victims emphasize the involvement of power agents who act in camouflage and masks, and application of firearms.

"In the course of investigating these criminal cases, inspectors failed to obtain any objective data about involvement of employees of law enforcement bodies in these kidnappings," the Office has stated.

According to the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic, in 2001-2008, the Republic registered 46 such cases, the whereabouts of 30 kidnapped persons is still unknown. This year, six facts of kidnapping eight persons have been registered. According to the Office, all the persons kidnapped in 2008 were set free by the kidnappers.