DUSHANBE, March 13, 2013, Asia-Plus – A group of Muslims have accused Surgut policemen of attacking visitors of the Halal teahouse, SurgutInformTV reported on March 12.

The aggrieved persons say that special police unit officers in masks and with assault rifles burst into the teahouse that is located near the mosque in the evening of March 3.

There were some ten citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in the teahouse at that moment.  The police officers reportedly made them lie on the floor, searched them and then made them cut off their beards.

One of the aggrieved persons said, “They told me: either we will burn your beard with a lighter or you will take scissors and cut off it by yourself.”

Police officers then took them to police station # 5 and they were released only on March 4.

SurgutInformTV says it is still unknown what subunit was involved in that incident.  The TV station has made an inquiry to the Ministry of Interior but the ministry has not yet made a reply. 

Meanwhile, Fayzullo Aminov, head of the Tajik Diaspora in Surgut, reportedly said that the Surgut police chief Alexander Yerokhov had already apologized to him.

According to Interfax, police officers say they allegedly went to the teahouse after receiving information about a brawl there.

The Ministry of Interior plans to launch probe into the incident, Interfax said.