TOMSK, Russia -- Several hundred people in the western Siberian city of Tomsk have staged a demonstration against local police and the death in police custody of journalist Konstantin Popov.
Popov was detained for being drunk on January 4.
He was severely beaten in the police detention area and taken to a hospital in a coma, and died from his injuries on January 20.
Protesters in Tomsk today carried banners reading "A militia beyond control is worse than bandits" and others pinning "shame" on the police force and senior officers.
The chief of police in Tomsk and the policeman who reportedly attacked Popov have been dismissed.
The policeman faces a number of charges in connection with the assault and subsequent death.
compiled from agency reports