[JURIST] Former Russian police officer Alexei Dymovsky [advocacy website, in Russian] was found guilty Tuesday in a defamation lawsuit for accusing Russian law enforcement officials of corruption on YouTube [corporate website]. A district court in the Russian city of Novorossiisk ordered [ITAR-TASS report] Dymovsky to pay both the chief of Novorosiisk police Vladimir Chernositov and chief of the Primorye precinct Valery Medvedev 50,000 rubles ($1,800) each. Dymovsky criticized [RIA Novosti report] the law enforcement officials last September. In the YouTube video addressed to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin [official website, in Russian; JURIST news archive], Drmovsky accused his superior officials of pressuring officers to improve their own crime statistics. He was also critical of the condition under which officers are expected to work. Dymovsky was fired following the video's posting, and was imprisoned [RIA Novosti report] for six weeks earlier this year. The Ministry of the Interior [official website] has ordered a probe into Dymovsky's accusations.

Dymovsky provides yet another example of corruption in the Russian law enforcement community. Six Russian officers disappeared [Moscow Times report] on Wednesday after their names were released to the media for falsely arresting homeless people in order to improve their crime figures. In January, Putin called for a new age of human rights and safety [JURIST report] in the Caucasus region of Russia, where the killings of journalists and activists have become increasingly common. Deaths of human rights workers are often blamed on the local police and security forces, who rarely face charges. Also in January, a Russian journalist died in prison [JURIST report] from injuries suffered during a police beating. In December, Putin called for greater oversight of officials [JURIST report] after a nightclub fire in Perm exposed widespread corruption among bureaucrats.