Apaev: court disregarded mitigating circumstances in verdict to participant of raid on Budyonnovsk

The verdict to Abubakar Mezhiev, convicted for participation in the attack on the city of Budyonnovsk in 1995, was upheld, despite the mitigating circumstances. This is the opinion Aslambek Apaev, head of the committee in defence of forced migrants' rights and director of the international peacemaking centre "Peace. Ecology. Culture" founded several months ago in Crimea.

"I know Mezhiev's case not by hearsay," said Mr Apaev in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "And I know that in this case not everything was like the court presented. Firstly, Mezhiev acted on compulsion. He didn't know where and why they went; and when it became clear, he tried to refuse, but they threatened to shoot him dead."

"Secondly, when in the Budyonnovsk hospital, he saved lives of several hostages: under risk for himself he helped three children, three medical workers and six other hostages to escape from the building. That is, he actually saved 12 persons," said the source.

Besides, as he added, in 2006 Mezhiev voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement bodies and confessed that for a short period he had been a member of armed formations.