Resident of Ingushetia convicted despite his complaint about torture

Today, the court has sentenced Abdulmalik Albagachiev, a resident of Ingushetia, to nine years in colony, having found him to be a participant in the conflict in Syria. His relatives intend to appeal against the verdict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 13, the state prosecutor demanded eight years in colony for Abdulmalik Albagachiev. However, the prosecutor failed to refer to the confessions of the defendant that are in the case files, which he later denied, explaining that he had been tortured. In its turn, his defence has stated that there is no evidence in the case files of Albagachiev as a member of Syrian militants.

Abdulmalik Albagachiev, a resident of Ingushetia, was accused of having fought against government forces in Syria since January 2015. According to investigators, in March 2015 he returned to Russia and kept an improvised explosive device (IED) at home.

Today, the North-Caucasian District Military Court has sentenced Abdulmalik Albagachiev to nine years in a general-security colony, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who was present at the court session, reports.

Relatives of the convict announced their intention to appeal the verdict at the Russia's Supreme Court. "How can we be satisfied with the verdict, when they had convicted an innocent person in prison? Of course, we'll appeal against it!" Ismail Mankiev, Abdulmalik's uncle, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 14, 2018 at 11:12 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.