RUSSIA: Two workers at a Siberian drunk tank killed themselves yesterday moments after shooting at a judge who had found them guilty of severely beating a policeman.
After missing the judge, one of the men shot himself in the head and died later in hospital in the town of Bratsk. Russian television said he had seized the gun from one of the men guarding him.
The other suspect threatened guards with a hand grenade, partially pulling out the pin and demanding a car in which to escape.
After driving away from the courthouse to a local reservoir, he threw away the grenade and shot himself, dying instantly.
The pair were on trial for assaulting a police officer who had been brought in to them to sober up. Most Russian towns have a few small cells where policemen leave drunks overnight to dry out. Down-and-outs most often end up in them, and are regularly subject to brutal treatment and humiliation. It is thought the policeman's colleagues may have left him in the cell as a prank after a night out.
Alcoholism is rife in Russia's poorly paid police force, which is riddled with corruption, indiscipline and low morale.