YEKATERINBURG, June 5 (RIA Novosti) - The case of Andrei Sychev, a Russian conscript who lost his legs after he was brutally beaten in early January, has been sent to court for consideration, prosecutors said Monday.
"The Sychev case has been forwarded to the Chelyabinsk garrison military court," a source at the Military Prosecutor's Office said.
Private Sychev, 19, was allegedly attacked and tortured by fellow soldiers in army barracks in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk, 1,180 miles east of Moscow, during the New Year's holidays. Doctors had to amputate his legs and genitals following the incident.
The Sychev case, the most high-profile in the latest string of hazing incidents in Russia, caused a public outcry across the nation, raising concerns over the spread of violence in the Russian army.
According to official statistics, 16 Russian servicemen died in incidents involving bullying last year alone. Experts, however, say that the actual number is much higher as the official figures do not take into account hazing-related suicides.
