Three verdicts of jury fail to help native of Dagestan get an acquittal

The court of appeal cancelled the third acquittal of two natives of Dagestan, accused in a murder of Sergey Saiputdinov, an employee of the “Chernomortransneft”. One of the defendants claimed that law enforcers tortured him, including in Chechnya, in order to force him to confess to the murder.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in June 2013, Abdul-Muslim Suleimanov was detained on suspicion of murdering Sergey Saiputdinov, a security service officer of the “Chernomortransneft”. Abdul-Muslim Suleimanov complained about torture and coercion to give false testimony. The defence claimed that the criminal case was falsified, since Abdul-Muslim Suleimanov had an alibi: on the day of the murder, he spent time in the hospital, attending his brother who got into a road traffic accident.

According to advocate Elvira Aidinova, the criminal prosecution had severe consequences for her client’s health. “He was tortured with electric current, he walks on crutches, and he underwent heart surgery,” the advocate said.

Abdul-Muslim Suleimanov complains that he and his family live in fear and under pressure from the law enforcement bodies.

“All that has been going on for ten years. I was kidnapped and taken to Chechnya on January 6, 2017, and [the chief of a law enforcement unit] in person was torturing me ... When they achieved nothing, they came up with a case of counterfeiting of money,” Abdul-Muslim Suleimanov stated.

The man also complained about many contradictions in the materials of the criminal case, fraud, and “open falsifications.”