Abdulmumin Gadjiev's colleagues claim no confidence in Dagestani courts

In Pyatigorsk, a court pronounced a decision to recognize authorities' refusal to sanction rallies as illegal. However, colleagues of Abdulmumin Gadjiev suggest that the authorities of Dagestan will find some other ways to prevent rallies in support of the arrested journalist.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since June 2019, Abdulmumin Gadjiev, a journalist of the Dagestani "Chernovik" (Draft) weekly, is under arrest within the case of financing terrorism. Investigators have declared Gadjiev's involvement in the "Congress of Ichkerian and Dagestani Nations" and the "Higher Military Majlisul-Shura of Combined Caucasian Mujahideen Forces", the organizations recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.

On June 23, in Pyatigorsk, the Fifth Cassation Court cancelled decisions pronounced by the courts in Dagestan and declared unlawful the refusals of the Ministry of Justice for the Stavropol Territory to sanction rallies in support of Abdulmumin Gadjiev. In total, 108 court's decisions were challenged, advocate Arsen Magomedov reported.

The decision of the Cassation Court proves there is still the rule of law in Russia, believes Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Chernovik" (Draft). "What was happening in the judicial system of Dagestan and what was happening in the Ministry of Justice of Dagestan was a parody of the law and a parody of justice," Magomed Magomedov emphasized.

Magomed Magomedov has also added that because of the regime of self-isolation, supporters of Abdulmumin Gadjiev are still not able to carry out actions in support of the arrested journalist. The deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik" believes that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan will continue trying to prevent the activists from holding rallies. "They will look for reasons to refuse, in order to prevent holding of public events in support of Abdulmumin Gadjiev," the deputy editor-in-chief said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 24, 2020 at 12:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.