17:48, 3 December 2021

Secret witnesses fail to prove Gadjiev's guilt

Abubakar Rizvanov, Kemal Tambiev and Abdulmumin Gadjiev in the courtroom, December 2, 2021. Photo by Konstantin Volgin for the "Caucasian Knot"

Two secret witnesses have stated in court that they had visited a mosque in Makhachkala and listened to the sermons of Israil Akhmednabiev (Abu Umar Sasitlinsky), among whose acquaintances there was a man named Abdulmumin, who called in his articles to raise money for the preacher. The witnesses failed confirm the involvement of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, a journalist of the "Chernovik" (Draft) portal, in financing of terrorism, the advocate has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at the trial of Gadjiev's case, half of the prosecution witnesses had been questioned, but none of them confirmed his guilt, Arsen Shabanov, an advocate, has informed. During 900 days of Gadjiev's arrest, no proofs of his guilt have been presented, Mairbek Agaev, the editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik", has stated.

According to investigators, Gadjiev, as well as Abubakar Rizvanov, the head of the "Ansar" charitable fund, and Kemal Tambiev had raised 68 million roubles and USD 200,000 for terrorists under the pretext of building mosques and helping poor Muslims. Investigators link these persons with the Dagestani preacher and founder of the Islamic foundation "Mukhajirun", known as Abu Umar Sasitlinsky.

The witnesses questioned today failed to confirm any Gadjiev's involvement in financing terrorism, Anna Serdyukova, another advocate, has stated. "We are outraged at the fact that all the secret witnesses are not witnesses at all: at the court sessions they say that they had not been direct eyewitnesses of the facts," she has stressed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 3, 2021 at 02:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Konstantin Volgin, Murad Muradov

Source: CK correspondents