Police faked the killing of a rabbi in an elaborate sting operation to catch members of an antisemitic gang, a Russian court has heard.
According to a trial taking place in the southern Krasnodar region, reported in the Times, police infiltrated a Citizens of the USSR, a Jew-hating cult which believes the Soviet Union still exists.
An undercover policeman was said to have posed as a “hitman” who was hired to murder a rabbi by the two suspected gang members on trial.
Yury Tkach, 52, the rabbi, agreed to take part in the fake operation after being informed by police. A make-up artist splashed him with fake blood and pictures were taken of him slumped in the stairwell of his apartment block.
Posing as the hitman, the policeman then showed the images of the “killing” to the two suspects as proof of the murder, the court reportedly heard.
As part of his undercover role, the police agent had demanded that the gang leaders make him head of the group’s “KGB” directorate for Krasnodar.
Police later published video of the rabbi being prepared for his “death” – complete with a make-up artist placing a fake wound on his head.
During the hearing at Krasnodar regional court, one of the suspects said he did not recognise the legitimacy of the proceedings. Both defendants deny the charges.
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