17:43, 15 February 2021

Moscow City Court refuses to consider complaint about Djumaev's arrest

Said-Muhammad Djumaev (left) in a courtroom. Photo: press service of the Presnya District Court in Moscow

Today, in Moscow, a judge has decided to withdraw from consideration a complaint about the arrest of Said-Muhammad Djumaev, since the defendant is in quarantine for coronavirus and is not able to participate in a court hearing.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that ethnic Chechen Said-Muhammad Djumaev clashed with law enforcers at the protest action in support of Alexei Navalny held in Moscow on January 23. Said-Muhammad Djumaev managed to escape, and a video of the incident provoked a wide public outcry. Later, Said-Muhammad Djumaev was detained in the Pskov Region and arrested until March 23. The native of Chechnya was charged with using violence against public officers.

The investigation into the Said-Muhammad Djumaev's case will not be long, and the verdict is unlikely to be mild, lawyers predict. Earlier, lawyer Yevgeny Chernousov and Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, the acting head of the Moscow branch of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT), have told the "Caucasian Knot" that in theory, Said-Muhammad Djumaev may avoid real imprisonment for a fight with law enforcers if he admits his guilt.

The Moscow City Court was supposed to verify today that the arrest of Said-Muhammad Djumaev was lawful. However, the Court has not completed the above verification, since the defendant is still in quarantine and is not able to participate in the court hearing, the spokesperson for the Moscow City Court has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. A new date for consideration of the appeal has not yet been scheduled.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 15, 2021 at 01:56 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.