CaT files cassation complaint against verdict to Kutaev

On April 28, a cassation complaint against the verdict to Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, convicted in Chechnya on charges of drug possession, was submitted by the Committee against Torture (CaT) to the presidium of the Supreme Court of the Chechen Republic, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) of human rights defenders in Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in July 2014 Kutaev was sentenced to four years in prison on charges of drug possession. He appealed against his verdict. On October 31, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya reduced his term by two months, while his defence demanded to send the case for retrial.

A source from the JMG said that the date for consideration of the complaint in the Supreme Court has not been appointed, adding that the advocate Pyotr Zaikin continues representing Kutaev's interests.

The Amnesty International has declared Ruslan Kutaev to be a "prisoner of conscience", while the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has put him on the list of political prisoners. Rights defenders associate prosecution of Kutaev with the fact that on February 18, 2014, during a conference on the deportation of Chechens and Ingushes, he criticized Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Chechnya, for banning commemorative events on the anniversary of deportation on February 23.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.