23:50, 5 July 2023

Families of Dagestanis killed in Chechnya denied case retrial

Relatives of eight residents of Dagestan killed in Chechnya in October 2016 have failed to achieve a revision of the criminal case at the Court of Appeal (CoA).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 10, 2023, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya found the murdered Dagestanis guilty of encroachment on law enforcers' lives and illegal arms trafficking, but dismissed the criminal case due to their deaths. Andrei Sabinin, an advocate, has sent a complaint in this case to the CoA. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has awarded EUR 609,000 as compensation to 27 applicants.

The residents of Dagestan, Gashim Uzdanov, Pakhrudin Makhaev, Islam Magomedov and Shamil Djamalutdinov disappeared on September 28, 2016, on their way from Kaspiysk to Makhachkala. On October 4 of the same year, Gusein Guseinov (Gosen Gosenov), Klych Klychev, Shamil Djamalutdinov and Kamil Djamaludinov disappeared in Khasavyurt. Law enforcers claimed that these people had been preparing a terror act and were killed in a shootout. According to law enforcers, the incident occurred at night on October 9, 2016, in the Gudermes District of Chechnya, when policemen tried to stop two cars, and fire was opened from them. Eight suspected militants were killed and four police officers were wounded in the shootout, the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has informed.

Relatives of the killed residents of Khasavyurt failed to challenge at the CoA the termination of the criminal case due to non-rehabilitating circumstances, the "Kavkaz.Realii"* project has reported.

In the complaint, the advocate for casualties' relatives stated that there were inconsistencies in the case, while investigators' proofs refute the casualties' guilt. According to the advocate, the examination of casualties' remains revealed the damages that stay after violent actions.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 5, 2023 at 03:33 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot