Decision to send him to SMO breaks agreement with defendant in Dalgatov case

The decision of the court in Makhachkala, which allowed Marat Babaev to go to the special military operation (SMO) zone, contradicts the pre-trial agreement in the case of the death of the detained Kurban Dalgatov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 5, the Sovietsky District Court of Makhachkala granted the request to release Babaev to the SMO zone in Ukraine. Dalgatov's parents decided to appeal against this decision to the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan and appeal to the head of Dagestan.

The court has decided despite the objections of the victims, Madina Alieva, an advocate, has informed. She explained that if Babaev leaves for the SMO zone, there may be a problem with the announcement of his testimony at the trial.

However, according to Ms Alieva, Babaev's testimony is not the only evidence for a guilty verdict against other policemen.

A total of thirteen policemen have been charged with involvement in Dalgatov's death: Arsen Abdulkadirov, Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Division and his subordinates. They are charged with abuse of power with grave consequences and torture resulting in the victim's death. Shamil Khadulaev, the chairman of the Dagestani Public Oversight Commission (POC), said that of the 13 accused, 12 are in custody, and Marat Babaev is "the only one who is being held without a freedom restriction measure."

According to the Russian legislation, if an accused person files a petition during the trial to be sent to the SMO, the victims' opinion is disregarded, Mikhail Benyash*, a lawyer, has noted.

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