ALMATY. June 14 (Interfax) - Vladimir Chelakh, grandfather of Kazakh border guard Vladislav Chelakh, says his grandson might have confessed to killing fellow servicemen under the influence of psychotropic drugs.
"[Vladislav Chelakh] is being kept at a police detention ward instead of the guardroom of the border unit not only for psychological pressure; they may also try to add something to his food. There are so many ways to force a person to make a confession nowadays," he told a Thursday press conference in Almaty.
He said he did not see the video of Chelakh's confession shown by the Main Military Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday.
"I did not see that video and I do not know what it is about. I have just heard others speaking about it. I can only tell you that my [grandson] looked depressed when I met him," he said.
It was reported earlier that a border guard detail from the Sary Bokter border post in the Usharal district, Almaty region, found the nearby Arkankergen border post on May 30 had been destroyed by fire and its personnel dead. Arkankergen is manned by 15 servicemen in summertime.
The soldiers' barracks and the officers' building were burned, and 14 dead bodies were found when the rubble was dug through. In addition, the body of the gamekeeper was found in a nearby hunting hut. The 15th border guard, Chelakh, was found alive. He later confessed to having killed his fellow servicemen and the gamekeeper, but he failed to coherently explain the motives for the crime.