Russian Authorities Close Investigation Of Tajik Baby's Death In Custody

Authorities in the Russian city of St. Petersburg have closed the high-profile case of a Tajik child's death in the city's custody.

The Investigative Committee in St. Petersburg said proceedings were officially closed on October 20 "due to the absence of crime in the case."

Five-month-old Umarali Nazarov died on October 14, 2015, a day after his parents were briefly detained in St. Petersburg and accused of violating migration rules.

Russian officials said the child had died in hospital after suffering respiratory problems.

The parents challenged this, insisting the boy was healthy.

Russian authorities agreed to open a probe into the child's death only after an outcry not only from Tajik migrants and human rights activists in Russia, but government officials in Tajikistan as well.