TALDYKORGAN, Kazakhstan — Despite widespread skepticism about his confession, a court in Kazakhstan convicted a border guard of killing 14 comrades and a park ranger at a remote outpost near the Chinese border.
Vladislav Chelakh was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment Tuesday for the killings in May.
Chelakh was found hiding in a cave a week after the killings, wearing civilian clothing and carrying a pistol. Prosecutors said he confessed, and a videotape of the purported confession later surfaced online.
However, many Kazakhs doubted Chelakh's guilt, and claims abounded on the Internet that he confessed under duress. A television news anchor quit his job rather than report the confession.
(AP)
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