Watchdog

Eight former police officers in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan have been sentenced to prison terms of between two and 15 years in a high-profile torture case.

A court on June 16 found the eight defendants guilty of abuse of power and inflicting bodily injury that led to death.

A probe against the eight officers was launched in 2012 after the death of a suspect arrested by police in Kazan for alleged hooliganism.

Before his death in hospital, the man told doctors that police had tortured him and raped him with a bottle.

The incident sparked a wave of protests across Russia. Several Kazan residents subsequently filed lawsuits, saying they had been tortured while in custody in the same police station.

Tatarstan Interior Minister Asgat Safarov resigned in the wake of the scandal.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS and Interfax

A former police officer in Russia's North Caucasus region of Stavropol Krai has been found dead.

Officials say the body of Zamir Taibov was found on June 14, one day after had been summoned for questioning for unknown reasons by the local branch of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

They say Taibov had been shot twice and that his body bore traces of torture.

Taibov, 27, an ethnic Turkic-speaking Nogai, lived in the village of Tukui-Mekteb. His relatives say he was a devout Muslim.

The spiritual directorate of Stavropol Muslims has expressed concerns over Taibov's death, saying that local law-enforcement bodies are investigating the case.

In December, 25-year-old Ibragim Nurov was found dead after he had been abducted from a mosque in the district capital, Neftekumsk.

With reporting by kavkaz.uzel.ru