Three Caucasus students have been charged with assaulting police after they tried to protect friends suspected of attempted murder during a brawl near the Yevropeisky shopping center last week.
Police tracked two suspects to a Moscow dormitory Friday, but when they tried to take them in for questioning, the suspects’ friends put up stiff resistance.
A fight ensued outside the dorm building, injuring several riot police officers.
A court on Monday ordered three students linked to the fight to be arrested on charges of assaulting police, Interfax reported. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Friday’s events were caught on video and soon appeared on the Internet. In the clip, police are seen firing in the air with automatic weapons and pinning at least three students to the ground.
“The individuals in question physically harmed police officers carrying out the instructions of investigators examining the attempted murder of Alexei Usachyov near the Yevropeisky shopping center,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Spartak football fan Usachyov was stabbed twice in the chest during the June 5 brawl between football fans and North Caucasus migrants near the shopping center, Interfax reported.
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