Well-known Ingush doctor Bagaudin Gaitukiev sentenced to probation

A court sentenced Ingush doctor Bagaudin Gaitukiev, accused of aiding and abetting members of illegal armed formations (IAFs), to five years of probation.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) added to Bagaudin Gaitukiev’s case the charges for facilitating terrorist activities, organizing the activities of a terrorist organization, and illegal arms trafficking. The new charges are based on the testimony of only one person, the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights reported.

According to the investigators’ version, in 2016, Bagaudin Gaitukiev helped two members of the armed underground purchase medicines. The doctor said he did not know that those people were connected with militants. New charges arose after a resident of Ingushetia, convicted of terrorism, slandered Bagaudin Gaitukiev, claiming that the doctor allegedly gave him a pistol. However, during an interrogation, the man retracted his testimony, and Bagaudin Gaitukiev had an alibi, the defence pointed out.

On March 3, 2022, the Ingush branch of the “Civil Initiative” Party announced the detention of Bagaudin Gaitukiev. The doctor was involved in public activities and openly voiced his civic position, which “often diverged from the line of power,” the “Civil Initiative” Party reported.

Let us remind you that Bagaudin Gaitukiev became well-known after carrying out successful surgery in 2009 to then Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov, who was wounded during an attack on his motorcade. Yunus-Bek Evkurov awarded Bagaudin Gaitukiev the honorary title “Honoured Doctor of the Republic of Ingushetia.”