Penza, 16 December 2013. PenzaNews. Members of the criminal gang that, according to the investigation, was formed in the Penza region in late 1990s and subsequently named “Zuevskie” during interrogations admitted their involvement in abuses, including murder, infliction of gunshot wounds, kidnapping, burning down several shops and a bakery, as well an intentional infliction of serious harm to health. This information was presented in the official statement posted on the website of the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Monday, December 16.

© PenzaNewsBuy the photo

“According to them, Andrei Zuev [a member of the Penza region Legislative Assembly of the fifth convocation representing CPRF] was involved in all the crimes listed,” the statement reads.

It also states that the opinion about the political nature of the case against Andrei Zuev is groundless.

In particular, the statement notes that the First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party Georgy Kamnev, who called the detention of the deputy of the regional parliament politically motivated, “judges of the nature of the criminal case not knowing the facts it is based on.”

“Thus, he demonstrates poor awareness of the information of the current events and haste in judgment,” the statement of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Penza region said.

“The public opinion that the case of Andrei Zuev is “political” is apparently based on the negative attitude toward the fact of Zuev’s detention and initiating criminal proceedings against him. But only a person with excessive gullibility and innocence can view personal acquaintance with the man who is involved in the criminal world as the main proof of the infallibility,” the statement says.

The investigators believe that since the beginning of 2000s Andrei Zuev and five members of the armed group committed a series of crimes involving weapons against entrepreneurs and residents of the Penza region. Currently, five cases are considered within one procedure upon extortion, causing bodily harm, robbery and other crimes.

The detention of the suspects was organized on Wednesday, December 4, at ten addresses at a time.

Commenting on the criminal case against Andrei Zuev, the First Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist party, a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Penza region Georgy Kamnev noted that it is of a political nature.

He expressed the opinion that if such group had existed and since the beginning of the 2000s its members had actually committed serious and particularly serious crimes, as claimed by the investigators, then its criminal activities should have been eradicated by law enforcement officials long ago.

The similar point of view was expressed by the Communist Party State Duma Deputy Vladimir Simagin, who said the case against Andrei Zuev “smells of politics.”

On December 6, the Oktyabrsky District court imposed a pre-trial restraint of detention for two months to Andrei Zuev and other suspects in the case of banditry.

According to the political analyst Anatoly Bodrov, the criminal case initiated against the member of the Legislative Assembly of the region Andrei Zuev discredited the regime again.