Gadjiev's colleagues treat witnesses' refusal to testify as proof of case falsification

At the latest court session on the case of the Dagestan journalist Abdulmumin Gadjiev, Askhab Djarbaev, a theologian, refused from his testimonies against the defendants, stating that he had not given such testimonies. Also, Kemal Tambiev, one of the defendants, stated the refusal from his testimonies given under pressure.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that colleagues of the journalist of the "Chernovik" (Draft) portal, Abdulmumin Gadjiev, treat the criminal case against him as persecution. They regularly hold protest actions in his support. Gadjiev himself insists on his innocence. At the court session on September 8, two prosecution witnesses, Aida Khaita and Sultan Omarov, stated that the testimonies they had given during the investigation had nothing to do with reality.

The Southern District Military Court has continued considering the case of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, Kemal Tambiev and Abubakar Rizvanov. At the session on September 20, a prosecution witness, Askhab Djarbaev, a theologian, and Kemal Tambiev were interrogated.

Askhab Djarbaev has stated that he was not familiar with the defendants; he had never read Gadjiev's articles. The prosecutor petitioned for the reading out of Djarbaev's accusatory testimonies, which he gave during the preliminary investigation. However, Djarbaev stated that he had not given such testimonies.

In his turn, Kemal Tambiev, a defendant, stated that he had confessed after violence was used against him, being in a stressful state.

Not a single witness has yet given either direct or indirect evidence that could at least somehow indicate that the defendants had committed crimes, Magomed Magomedov, a deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik", believes, stating that the witnesses' refusals from the testimonies given earlier during the investigation are their reaction to investigator's work. "They are massively claiming that they had not testified like that; therefore, it is necessary to check the materials of the criminal case and the investigation team to see if they had forged the case materials," Mr Magomedov has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 20, 2022 at 10:39 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.