The Investigative Committee said Wednesday that it has opened a criminal case into complaints by several underage boarders at the Vladimir region’s Svyato-Bogolyubsky Monastery that they were regularly abused by staff.
Three teenagers spoke of beatings, sleep deprivation and forced labor in an interview with Izvestia last week. Similar accusations were voiced by another boarder last year, but no one was charged.
The committee said in a statement on its web site that no suspects have been identified. It said possible charges could include deprivation of freedom, while children’s ombudsman Pavel Astakhov said torture charges might follow, Interfax reported.
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