Moscow - Right-wing extremists have claimed responsibility for decapitating a 20-year-old foreign worker from the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday, citing investigators and human rights organizations. The Tajik man's head was discovered in a plastic bag in a rubbish bin in Moscow. His body had been found on December 6.
A group calling itself the "Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists" claimed responsibility for the attack in a image sent by mobile phone.
According to police, the man and another Tajik, both workers in a fruit and vegetable market, were attacked by about 10 extremists in a Moscow suburb.
The two were first shot with rubber bullets and then beaten before the second man managed to escape.
According to human rights organizations, incidents of right-wing violence have risen to an historic high of 100 this year.
Human rights organizations have been complaining about increasing extremist violence in Russia for some time.
However, the issue is very rarely discussed openly in Russia, despite calls from the Commonwealth of Independent States, to which both Russia and Tajikistan belong, for a public discussion.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called, in light of the ongoing financial crisis, for a reduction in quotas for foreign workers. Many Russians believe that immigrants take away jobs that could have been held by Russians.
Last year, an internet video in which a Tajik and a Caucasian were killed by masked Russian extremists caused a stir in Russia.
A group calling itself the National Socialist Party of Russia claimed responsibility for the video.
Right-wing groups have announced plans for demonstrations against foreigners in Moscow this Friday.
