A Russian MMA fighter and his brother have had all charges against them dropped, after they were arrested in connection with a violent burglary in north Phuket back in September.
Khusein Askhabov and his twin brother Khasan were arrested on September 3, suspected of being involved in a brutal attack on an Italian national in the Thalang district.
However, the Phuket News reports that the brothers have now been released, with all charges dropped.
The Askhabov twins had been charged with extortion and conspiracy to torture. Their release has been confirmed in a social media post by the MMA sports channel, Red Fury MMA.
“Officially! All charges against the Askhabov brothers have been dropped and they are already free. The injured person named the athletes, but during the investigation it turned out that they were not involved in this incident. Now the police are going to open a case against the victim for false testimony.”
The men, then reported as “Kazakh nationals”, broke into a villa in the Chergntalay sub-district. There they attacked the Italian owner, keeping him bound and gagged as they repeatedly assaulted him in an attempt to get information out of him.
The ordeal lasted hours, until the men eventually fled the villa, stealing personal belongings worth over 12 million baht. The perpetrators then caught a flight out of Phuket to Dubai.
On September 5, Chalermchai Hersawat, chief of Cherngtalay Police, confirmed the arrest of the Askhabov brothers, on arrest warrants issued the day before by the Phuket Provincial Court.
A police report at the time confirmed the brothers would be prosecuted for “the act of robbery done with cruelty, to the extent that others receive it and endangering the body or mind through torture”.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
