[KavkazUzel] The Fifth Court of Cassation in Pyatigorsk upheld the verdict on brothers Ismail Isaev and Salekh Magamadov, convicted in Chechnya for aiding a militant.As the "Caucasian Knot" has reported, since October 12, 2021, the Achkhoi-Martan court has been considering the criminal case of the brothers Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev. The lawyers sought to transfer the case to another region, but the court refused them, with the same demand, the brothers went on a hunger strike in December 2021.
On February 22, a court in Chechnya sentenced Salekh Magamadov to eight years in prison and Ismail Isaev to six years. On May 11, the Supreme Court of Chechnya refused to commute the sentence of Salekh Magamadov and his brother Ismail Isaev, convicted on charges of helping a militant; the defense appealed the verdict  to the cassation instance.
The brothers Magamadov and Isaev were accused of aiding a militant from Aslan Byutukaev's group.
| ...more formally known as Aslan Avgazarovich Byutukayev and to his fans as Emir Khamzat. The group presumably is Islamic State (IS) Wilayah al-Qawqaz (Caucasus Province), to which he pledged allegiance in 2015, previously being a Number Three in Dokka Umarov‘s Caucasus Emirate, having worked his way up to commanding a band of 30-50 suicide bombers called Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs. In January, 2021 the Chechen police killed him for the last time. |
The court, in the absence of lawyers and parents of the young men, decided to take them into custody. In March 2021, the brothers complained to the Investigative Committee about beatings and torture after being detained in both 2020 and 2021. At a meeting with lawyers, they reported that they were forced to sign fabricated confessions.
The 5th Court of Cassation of Pyatigorsk today considered a complaint against the verdict of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, they were present via video link. The defense, represented by lawyers Mark Alekseev and Alexander Nemov, insisted on the annulment of the verdict and a review of the case outside of Chechnya, the Crisis Group CK SOS reported today.Â
Lawyers pointed to the inconsistency of the accusation and numerous violations during the investigation and in the trials: the Chechen court refused to transfer the case to another region, the right to defense of Salekh and Ismail was violated, and the testimony of police officers was used in the case as evidence of guilt, the report says. Telegram channel of the group.
The judge decided to remove the testimony of the police from the case file, but left the punishment unchanged, the human rights project OVD-Info* reported today.
Recall that since July 15, defenders have been denied a meeting with Salekh Magamadov at the Vladimirsky Central, claiming that he is not in prison. At the same time, the letter was delivered to Magamadov, and on August 4, his lawyers called on netizens to call the FSIN hotline and ask why lawyers were not allowed to see their client.
Employees of the "Vladimirsky Central" on August 11 let the defender to Magamadov, but the conversation was controlled by a prison officer, lawyer Alexander Nemov said. According to him, Magamadov confirmed that he had been at the stage for two months. On July 7, the Crisis Group CK SOS informed that Isaev was transferred to a colony in the Kuban, on July 21 it became known that he was placed in a punishment cell for 15 days.
The brothers' accusations of helping the militant are ridiculous, since the Chechen security forces suspected a gay and transgender person who mocks religion of complicity with a supporter of a radical movement in Islam, Elena Milashina, a columnist for Novaya Gazeta, said earlier.