In the interview, published on February 1 in the New Times magazine, the officers of the special police force spoke to the publication about corruption in their unit and criticized their commanders for imposing unbearable working conditions.
The article resulted in a major scandal in the Moscow police, with the special police force department vehemently denying all accusations.
During a press conference on Thursday, the head of the department Vyacheslav Haustov stated, “I have signed statements from all ten policemen in which they say they had nothing to do with this material.”
Haustov also said the police department plans to sue both the publication and the author of the article.