Slave labor and murder: Novosibirsk farmers supported by local officials may be involved in suspicious deaths
В Tatarsky district of Novosibirsk region a criminal case on the use of slave labor with the use of violence and confiscation of passports has reached the court, сообщает Siberian Express.
Charges brought against 65-year-old farmer Rovshan Mustafayev and his 39-year-old son NarvanuBoth men have ties to security forces and government officials, and enjoyed the patronage of the Novosibirsk regional government, journalists write.
Investigators believe that the Mustafayevs used the labor of disadvantaged villagers on a farm near the village Dmitrievka and in a hotel on the federal highway "Irtysh"At the same time, the workers were not paid and were forbidden to leave the hotel where they were staying.
Local residents also believe that the deaths, which investigators preferred to attribute to suicide, may be connected to the Mustafayevs' business.
The first body was found "about 20 years ago" in Dmitrievka near a café owned by the Mustafayev family—a naked and burned woman. In 2016, one of the Mustafayev family's employees, Mikhail Machetov, was found hanged in a birch tree in a field.
"I found indirect evidence of how he was treated by the Mustafayevs and how he was beaten," former local police officer Alexander Panfilov told reporters.
A source close to local authorities told Siberian Express that there was at least one other dead man—he was found with his throat slit. However, no murder investigation has been opened.
Read a story about the hopelessness of a village and the hope that comes from people who care, in the material "Siberian Express".
