Prosecutors to investigate claims of child brutality at Vladimir monastery (updated)

Moscow, October 20, Interfax – The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office will look into claims of brutal child abuse at the Svyato-Bogolyubovsky Monastery near the city of Vladimir, spokeswoman Marina Gridneva told Interfax on Wednesday.

”We certainly respond to all of the legal violations reported by the media. Doubtlessly, we will investigate the claims reported by the Izvestia newspaper,” Gridneva said.

The Izvestia newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing the mother of one allegedly abused girl, that children were frequently heard crying and their arms and legs were covered in bruises after being beaten.

Children were forced to bow up to 500 times as a form of punishment and worked in the fields from morning till night, the newspaper reported.

One girl, named Marina Loiko, claimed that she was forced to eat a cupful of salt, was beaten with a belt and was deprived of food and sleep for misbehaving, Izvestia reported.

A request has been made to the local authorities to transfer the children to a boarding school in the nearby town of Suzdal.

The Russian Public Chamber told Interfax earlier that it would look into the allegations.

An independent inquiry will also be conducted by the office of Pavel Astakhov, the Kremlin’s children’s rights commissioner.