MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - A district court in Moscow on Monday sentenced three policemen to three years in prison, after finding them guilty of battering a 12-year-old boy.
Basmanny Court's press office said the police officers, convicted on charges of abuse of power and causing bodily harm, will serve their sentences in a penal colony.
They have also been ordered to pay 100,000 rubles ($3,738) in damages to the boy's parents, half the sum sought by the prosecution.
In April 2006, the officers arrived at an apartment block in central Moscow having received a security alarm call which subsequently proved to be false. While examining the building, they ran into Nikita Gladyshev, a resident.
Assuming the alarm had been raised by Gladyshev, the officers illegally handcuffed the 12-year-old and brought him by force to a police station. On resisting, the boy was beaten by the officers, and hospitalized later that day.
The officers' defense lawyers said they will appeal the sentences with a higher court.
