Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The transfer of the case of five participants in the riots in Makhachkala to Kuban can be appealed, but success is unlikely, lawyers interviewed by the Caucasian Knot indicated. Many residents of the republic sympathize with the accused, but refrain from public support, reported journalist Magomed Magomedov and activist Shamil Khadulaev.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on February 17, relatives of the rioters at the Makhachkala airport turned to Putin with a request for leniency. They stated that their detained loved ones were victims of provocation and made a mistake. The authors of the appeal noted that some families do not have the opportunity to travel to court hearings in the Krasnodar Territory, where the case of five accused was transferred.
By December 13, 2023, about 150 people had been arrested in the criminal case of riots at the airport, one of them was also accused of attacking a security officer. For most of the accused, the arrest period has been extended until the end of March. Among those arrested, there are those who simply observed what was happening, said a member of the Dagestan PMC. On February 12, the Supreme Court granted the request of the Prosecutor General's Office to change the territorial jurisdiction of the case of the five accused and transferred the case to the Armavir District Court. There were no grounds for transferring the case to another region; this decision will complicate the work of the defense, the lawyers said.
The authorities of Dagestan know that the relatives of the accused recorded a video message to Putin, the mother of the accused, Salika Ramazanova, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today. “We recorded the appeal at the home of the father of one of the accused. First the district police officer came to him, then he was called to the chief of police, and today to the investigative department. He was told that perhaps he would be called to the head of Dagestan [Sergei] Melikov. Pressure on they don’t provide it, they just find out what’s what,” she said.
There is no reaction from Moscow yet, the woman noted. “I don’t know whether there will be a result. But there is hope. We don’t just want cases to be heard in Dagestan, we really can’t go there [to Kuban] for trials. My husband is disabled, there is no money for this. We were told that everything the courts will be in the Krasnodar region. We are against it, we want the courts to be where this incident took place," she said.
Salik Ramazanov’s lawyer, Makhmud Magomedov, considered the decision to transfer the cases to the Krasnodar Territory illegal. “I consider this decision illegal. The very procedure for applying for restrictions on territorial jurisdiction was not followed. They should have been limited by the decision of the Karabudakhkent District Court, that is, through the court where the criminal case was to be heard. And then the Deputy Prosecutor General appealed to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation,” - he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
This decision may be challenged, he noted. “In practice, such decisions can be challenged and canceled. But if we talk specifically about this case, then my opinion is that it will not be canceled, unfortunately,” the lawyer said.
The territorial jurisdiction of a case may change if there are concerns about the objectivity of local courts, noted lawyer Arsen Shabanov. “The law allows you to change the territorial jurisdiction if there are circumstances that may cast doubt on the objectivity and impartiality of the court when making a decision on the case,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
At the same time, the lawyer found it difficult to assert that the authorities would meet the request of the relatives and return the cases to Dagestan for consideration.
An appeal to Putin, recorded by relatives of the accused, is unlikely to yield results, says Magomed Magomedov, deputy editor-in-chief of the Chernovik newspaper. “I doubt that the cases will be transferred to Dagestan. This is such an order from the federal center. And, apparently, it was decided that there will be no pity for them. They want to show that everything will be strict,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
According to him, the defendants in the airport riot cases still enjoy tacit support in society. “There is support for the defendants in society, although it is not publicly expressed. At the moment, except for the relatives of the defendants, no one publicly speaks out in their defense, as was the case before. But, as I already said, there is non-public support,” the journalist said.
A similar opinion was expressed by the deputy chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev. “There is support, there are statements, but mostly they are not public. For various reasons they do not speak out publicly. But there is definitely support. People are worried, they do not want them [the accused] to be imprisoned,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
Khadulaev considers it necessary to consider criminal cases in Dagestan. “According to the laws of the Russian Federation, where a crime is committed, the case should be considered there. But, unfortunately, we already have a tradition of considering cases in other regions. I cannot say that I am delighted with Dagestan justice, but if a crime is committed here, let our courts consider these cases,” said Shamil Khadulaev.
He noted that about 100 people still remain in pretrial detention. “There were 130 people. But there is talk that this number may increase. Because some were afraid to come to the investigative authorities, knowing that everyone was being treated with the same brush. Last week I was in Makhachkala, I was interested, but there were no complaints from the detainees. conditions of detention, they don’t complain about pressure, etc.,” Khadulaev said.
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