Bishkek, December 29. (Zpresskg.com). Russian police have freed 15 Kyrgyz children who were forced to work in an underground factory in Moscow Oblast, RFE-RL's Russian Service reports.
Police said they discovered an illegal textile shop in Noginsk, about 50 kilometers from Moscow, where migrants from Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan were working.
Margarita Maslova, a spokeswoman for the criminal investigation department in Moscow Oblast, told RFE-RL that the children were reportedly forced to work at night. She said that if they did not fulfill their work quotas they were punished.
She added that numerous bruises and signs of a beating were found on the body of an 11-year-old boy employed at the shop.
A Kyrgyz native who is registered in Moscow Oblast was reportedly selecting children from poor Kyrgyz families to work in the factory.
Criminal charges are expected for the use of slave labor of children and operation of a clandestine factory.