10 June 2021, 22:27
Human rights defenders consider Chechen penal colony dangerous for Gadaev
Magomed Gadaev, who was deported from France, is sentenced to a short term of imprisonment, but unfairly, and the actual conditions in a penal colony-settlement on the territory of Chechnya may turn out to be worse than in a high-security penal colony, human rights defenders note.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on June 9, in Achkhoi-Martan, the court sentenced Magomed Gadaev, a native of Chechnya, who requested state protection after his deportation from France, to 1.5 years of imprisonment in a penal colony-settlement in a case on possession of weapons.
On April 9, 37-year-old Magomed Gadaev was deported from France to Russia despite his protest. On April 11, the police took Magomed Gadaev to Chechnya in connection with a criminal case on possession of weapons. On April 14, the defendant refused the services of advocate Tsvetkov, provided to him by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*. On May 27, it became known that Magomed Gadaev refused the services of Alexander Nemov, another advocate, who was hired by a Magomed Gadaev’s wife, living in France. The human rights defenders suggested that Magomed Gadaev was forced to deprive himself of the right to defence.
Magomed Gadaev is sentenced to a rather short term of imprisonment, but there are concerns about the conditions in which he will be serving his sentence, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been told by Shamil Albakov, the press secretary for the Assembly of Caucasian Nations. “The imprisonment term is short. However, taking into account the fact that he is not guilty, this is unfair. Still, he will have to spend a year and a half in custody,” Shamil Albakov said.
The press secretary for the Assembly of Caucasian Nations is confident that Magomed Gadaev is not guilty. “Magomed Gadaev is not involved in any way to the illegal possession of weapons, for which he is sentenced. Moreover, he has spent 12 years far from his homeland,” Shamil Albakov emphasized.
Human rights defender Oyub Titiev notes that Magomed Gadaev may be sent to a colony-settlement in Argun. According to the human rights defender, that penitentiary institution has a bad reputation. “It is even worse than a high-security penal colony. Not because of the regime, but because of the attitude of the warders towards the convicts. This is the hardest thing there,” Oyub Titiev explained. He thinks that Magomed Gadaev will be sent to the colony-settlement in Argun.
* The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the “Register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent”.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 10, 2021 at 04:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent
