Sentence of Makhachkala resident upheld despite claim of case fabrication

A court of cassation upheld the verdict against Shamil Idrisov, a resident of Makhachkala, who was sentenced to six years of imprisonment on the charge of possessing a grenade. The court found unconvincing the arguments that the case materials were fabricated for Shamil Idrisov’s refusal to secretly cooperate with the law enforcement bodies.

Shamil Idrisov claimed falsification of the criminal case against him on possession of a grenade, for which he was sentenced to six years of imprisonment. An advocate stated that the grenade was planted on the defendant during his detention in February 2022.

According to the defender’s version, Shamil Idrisov gave his initial testimony under pressure from law enforcers. The convict himself claimed that the criminal case was revenge for his refusal to secretly cooperate with the law enforcement bodies, the “Kavkaz.Realii”* reports.

The defence requested the court to cancel the sentence and recognize Shamil Idrisov’s right to rehabilitation. According to the court’s version, the absence of metal particles on Shamil Idrisov’s clothes does not indicate that he was not guilty, and the forensic examination confirmed the presence of traces of the convict’s sweat on the grenade.

The “Caucasian Knot” has also reported that Eduard Ataev, a former coordinator of the Alexei Navalny’s** office in Makhachkala, was arrested on the charges of possession of an explosive device and drugs. The defendants claimed that the grenade and drugs were planted to him associated the criminal proceedings against him with his political position and opposition to corruption. The quality of the forensic examination of the grenade found during the search at Eduard Ataev’s place raised questions from the defence. However, the court sentenced Eduard Ataev to six years and five months of imprisonment in a penal colony.

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

**On January 25, the “Rosfinmonitoring” (the Russian Federal Service for Financial Monitoring) included Alexei Navalny into the register of extremists and terrorists. He is a founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (known as FBK), an NCO that is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent, recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation. Convicted on probation in a case on fraud, in February 2021, the term was replaced with imprisonment. In a penal colony, Alexei Navalny was charged with fraud and contempt of court and sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment. Furthermore, Alexei Navalny was also sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment in a case on disorganizing the penal colony, extremism, and rehabilitation of Nazism. In April, Alexei Navalny announced that he faced life imprisonment in the case on terrorism. Recognized as a “prisoner of conscience.” The “Caucasian Knot” material “Navalny: Caucasian Dimension” sets out the oppositionist’s views on problems related to the Caucasus. The Alexei Navalny’s offices, which previously operated in the Russian regions, are recognized in Russia as extremist organizations and included in the list of prohibited organizations.