Russia's child rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has urged Russian authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of a Tajik baby, who died after allegedly being separated from his parents in St Petersburg police custody.
Umarali Nazarov, the five-months-old son of a Tajik migrant family, died on October 14, a day after his parents were briefly detained for allegedly violating migration rules.
The parents say police officers separated the child from the couple upon their arrest and didn't return him when they were released five hours later.
The parents say police told them the child was sent to hospital with respiratory problems.They were given the child's body a day later.
The parents insist their child was healthy and didn't suffer from any illness.
Tajikistan has demanded Russian authorities to probe the incident, which has sparked angry protests by dozens of Tajiks in Moscow and outrage on social media.
Tajikistan's embassy in Moscow said Russia's Foreign Ministry has offered condolences to the family.
Russia hosts more than 1.2 million Tajik labor migrants, who leave Tajikistan due to a lack of jobs.
