A criminal case is brought up against a group of five Chelyabinsk college students who used a local gay cruising chat to lure a 25 year old gay man, kidnap, threaten him with a gun and rob. Afterwards the group led the man to a bank forcing him to take a loan, while the victim managed to pass a note to a bank officer asking for help. Police arrested the group at the crime scene.
The group consisted of five young men from 18 to 22 years old, they had no history of criminal records, KP reports. According to the victim’s testimony, they said that their first goal was to “clease the society” of gays rather than getting money from him.
“The suspects had a gun”, says Emilia Sinenko, Senior Attorney Assistant of Traktorozavodsky District in Chelyabinsk. “They took the victim out of the city, to the shore of the Pervoye lake. Threatening [him] with a gun, they demanded money. The victim had 10 thousand rubles (approx. USD 291) on him. He gave the money to them, but it was not enough for the suspects. The students bullied the captive with cruelty: forced him to get naked and shot the ground next to him. The young man who suffers from a chronic disease, had a heart attack caused by the stress. In this condition he was taken to the bank to get a loan of 50 thousand rubles (approx. USD 1,460)”.
In pursuit of money the thugs visited two banks. At the first bank there was no luck and, incidentally, no help for the victim too. A bank manager ignored the SOS message with a smile and promised she would call back later, despite of the fact that the victim was well-known as a regular customer at that bank office. Prosecutors and law enforcement officers expressed their special thanks to the staff of the second bank who reported the incident to the police and helped to arrest the suspects.
The crime suspects did not admit their guilt and made scanty statements during the interrogation. The criminal case is brought up under four articles: “Kidnapping”, “Robbery”, “Extortion”, and “Unlawful possession of a car” (the suspects were driving the victim’s car). KP notes that their relatives hired expensive lawyers and engaged a support group of their girlfriends who testified that the suspects “are good guys and simply couldn’t do it”, thus the trial might be dragged on for a long time, considering the victim’s sexual orientation.
Source – Queer Russia
