RWB: Geriev convicted on trumped-up charges

The decision of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Chechen Republic, which upheld the verdict to Zhalaudi Geriev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, should be repealed in view of the fabrication of the case, the international organization "Reporters without Borders" (RWB) has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 28, the SC of Chechnya upheld the verdict to Geriev, passed on September 5 by the Shali District Court, according to which the journalist was sentenced to three years in colony on charges of possessing marijuana. His defence had then treated the verdict as illegitimate.

At the trial at the SC of Chechnya, like at the first-instance court, no evidence was presented in support of the prosecutor's version, apart from the confessions, given by Geriev under pressure and abandoned by him afterwards, the RWB has noted, adding that the case itself contains numerous contradictions, while the trial was accompanied by procedural violations. The court "ignored the testimonies of defence witnesses, who confirmed that three armed men had kidnapped Geriev; and complaints about ill-treatment were rejected by the court."

The conviction of Geriev "is a punishment for his journalistic activities," said Johann Beer, the head of the RWB's bureau for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

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