Defendants in Nalchik attack case ask to summon ex-Interior Minister

Today, at the trial on the events of October 13, 2005, in Nalchik, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), defendant Azamat Akhkubekov filed a motion to summon Khachim Shogenov, former Minister of Internal Affairs, as a witness.

Defendant Akhkubekov justified his petition by the fact that "according to the documents submitted to the court, all the defendants had been registered by operative agencies as adherents of the religious-extremist movement of Wahhabism. They were "under constant secret supervision of operative services of the MIA of the KBR."

Akhkubekov said that he and other defendants would like to find out from the former Minister, in particular, "how the persons - Anzor Astemirov and Ilyas Gorchkhanov - announced into international, federal and operative search for the attack on the Federal Drug Control Service ('Gosnarkokontrol'), still managed, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, in the period from December 2004 to October 2005, to recruit a total of 250 persons into organized criminal groupings and perform ideological treatment of them?"

The defendant also wants to know "why Shogenov, being a member of the Anti-Terrorist Commission, had not notified the republic's leadership about the prepared attack."

The petition was supported by other defendants and some of the advocates.

When the petition was discussed, Olga Chibinyova, head of the group of prosecutors, said that at that moment the accusation party was presenting evidences and asked the court to deny the petition.

The court made consultations in situ and rejected the petition, but left the right with the defendants to move it later.