Abdulmumin Gadjiev's brother refuses to testify

Relatives of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, the arrested journalist of the "Chernovik" (Draft) weekly, were summoned for questioning within his case. Gadji Gadjiev, Abdulmumin's brother, wrote a written refusal to testify and demanded explanations from the investigator why they prohibit relatives from visiting the journalist.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Abdulmumin Gadjiev, the editor of the religion section of the "Chernovik", was arrested on June 18, 2019, after which the court extended his custody. On October 7, the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan decided to reconsider the verdict of one of the district courts of Makhachkala, which had extended his custody.

Gadji Gadjiev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that an agent of the criminal investigation division called him and said that the investigator Nadir Televov had summoned for questioning Abdulmumin's parents, as well as Gadji and his wife.

"I went to the investigating committee to him [Televov] and said I refuse to testify in accordance with Article 51 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation (enshrining one's right not to testify against oneself and his/her close relatives, – note of the "Caucasian Knot")," said Gadji Gadjiev.

According to his story, the investigator stated that he was going to re-summon both him and other relatives of the arrested journalist.

When asked by Gadji Gadjiev why his brother was not allowed to be visited by his children and parents, the investigator replied that these were the consequences of the journalist's and his relatives' unwillingness to cooperate with the investigation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 8, 2019 at 09:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.