Surgeons had to put the boy under general anaesthesia to remove the kernels (Picture EAST2WEST)

An eight-year-old boy was made to kneel on raw buckwheat as punishment by his stepdad, who researched medieval torture methods online, authorities say.

The kernels were so embedded they reportedly grew from his skin, forcing surgeons to put him under general anaesthesia to remove them.

He was allegedly ordered to kneel on them from anywhere between 30 minutes to nine hours if he broke any rules or was late home from school.

Sergey Kazakov, 35, who met the boy’s mum Alina Yumasheva online, is accused of spying on the child using a webcam to make sure he stayed where he was.




Now the couple from Omsk, Siberia, are due to go on trial for torture, deliberate infliction of moderate bodily harm and child welfare offences and could face up to seven years in prison.

The boy is under the close watch of social services while his parents are on trial (Picture: East2West)

He was allegedly made to kneel on the kernels for up to nine hours at a time (Picture: east2west news)

Yumasheva, 27, claimed kneeling on buckwheat was an ‘effective’ punishment and says she underwent it once and felt no pain.

The boy was reportedly a good student who took part in extracurricular activities at school.

Teacher Olga Pidzhakova said she thought he was too scared to speak out.

She added: ‘He is a good, positive child. His mother constantly attends parental meetings, comes if I call.

‘He is always clean, and neatly dressed. Neither I, nor other teachers or children were even aware that he was being bullied at home.

Mother Alina Yumasheva says she had no idea the boy was being beaten (Picture: east2west news)

The stepdad allegedly used a webcam to spy on the boy (Picture: east2west news)

Alina Yumasheva and her partner face up to seven years if found guilty (Picture: Komsomolskaya Pravda)

‘It is only now that I find out he was simply afraid to complain to us.’

The child only lifted the lid on what was happening when he ran from the family home in May after a severe punishment.

He reportedly explained what had been happening to a neighbour who called the police straight away.

Since being charged she says she had no idea her son was also being beaten up by her IT company boss partner.

The boy is currently living with his mum under the watch of social services while Kazakov is being held in custody.

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