The parents of a teenager accused of setting fire to a forest in Transbaikalia reported torture.
Mother of one of two teenagers, arrested Yesterday, and sent to pretrial detention on suspicion of setting a forest fire, she stated that after her son's arrest, he was "taken into the forest, abused, threatened, had wires connected to his genitals, and was electrocuted." This information was reported by journalist Natalia Selivanova.
According to investigators, two teenagers set fire to a forest for money, working for Telegram scammers. According to local media sources, they were actually working to extinguish the fire alongside well-known volunteer Andrey Stepanenko. Stepanenko himself had previously been accused of arson, his home was searched, and he was detained, but released after media coverage.
One of the accused is a pupil of an orphanage, сообщают People of Baikal, citing a source familiar with the case, says Selivanova says he's "a good guy," but ran away from an orphanage.
The mother of the second arrested man doesn't believe her son committed arson, says Selivanova. According to her source, the teenager helped Stepanenko put out fires in Atamanovka and treated him well. The volunteer also took young people with him to work part-time installing underfloor heating.
Stepanenko is currently a witness in an arson case.
This year, wildfires have engulfed the region. record area — 2,7 million hectares. Previously, the governor of Transbaikalia, Alexander Osipov She urged "It's more effective to identify and punish those responsible for arson." According to him, the "absolute majority" of fires were caused by arson.