For five days in a row, Maira Babayan has been sitting on a bench outside the Government House in Vladikavkaz. She is protesting the sentence of her son, who was found guilty of leaving his military unit without leave.
According to his mother, the young man was wounded and awaited evacuation for several days. After seeking medical attention at a Vladikavkaz hospital complaining of pain, he was denied medical care. Later, at a hospital in Beslan, he was diagnosed with a complex hip fracture and underwent surgery to remove his coccyx. A criminal case was subsequently opened against the serviceman.
Despite an appeal, the sentence of five and a half years in prison was upheld. According to the mother of the convicted man, the head of North Ossetia, Sergei Menyailo, stated that he was unable to influence the court's decision and that his only recourse was to appeal to the President of the Russian Federation.
