22:49, 31 May 2023

Dagestan citizen's defence treats terrorism case as fabricated

The case of organizing a terrorist cell, for which four residents of Dagestan were convicted, was fabricated, the advocate has stated, adding that at least two of the convicts had been subjected to pressure and torture.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Russia's Supreme Court (SC) upheld the sentence of Djamaludin and Tazhudin Tazhudinov, Khabib Gadjiev and Alimagomed Sheikhov, natives of the Kizilyurt District, who were sentenced to prison terms of 16 to 19 years for organizing a terrorist community. The defendants gave testimonies to investigators under torture, their advocates have stated.

Alexander Kuyumdji, the advocate for Alimagomed Sheikhov, has confirmed that "unacceptable measures of psychological influence" were taken against his client. Also, according to his version, the examination has confirmed that Khabib Gadjiev had been beaten up.

According to the court, in 2015, while in Syria, Gadjiev, "being an adherent of radical religious views," joined militants of the banned "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist organization. In November 2017, he arrived in Russia and then, with the rest of the defendants, created an illegal armed formation.

The advocate for Khabib Gadjiev has stated that his guilt was not proven, since the court unreasonably refused to interrogate the Turkish residents who would confirm that Gadjiev had not fought in Syria on militants' side.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 31, 2023 at 10:57 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Naim Suleimanov

Source: СK correspondent