Dagestan: consideration of complaint of Sapiyat Magomedova beaten by militia postponed again

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the consideration of the complaint lodged by lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova, who was beaten by militia on June 17 in GOVD (City Interior Department) of Khasavyurt, appointed on November 8, was reappointed for November 10.

On October 18, the lawyer filed a complaint in the order of Article 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation on the decision to initiate a criminal case against her, where she stated that the investigator concluded that he had sufficient crime attributes on the basis of false evidences of the persons, who are interested in the outcome of the case.

The consideration of her complaint was to be held on November 1, then, it was postponed to November 2, then - to November 3, and then - to November 8. On October 23, at its sitting, the Board of the Bar of Dagestan commissioned ten lawyers to represent Magomedova's interests at this judicial sitting.

The incident with Magomedova's beating has received a considerable resonance in the republic and abroad. The lawyers in the city of Kizilyurt and Kizilyurt District announced that from November 1 on they refuse to participate as advocates in the cases investigated by inquirers and inspectors of the Kizilyurt OVD and Kizilyurt Inter-District Investigation Division of the Investigatory Department of the ICPO (Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office) of the Russian Federation for Dagestan.

The signatories of the statement protest against illegal actions perpetrated against lawyers by law enforcement bodies in Dagestan.

On October 30, the issue of a general strike was discussed at a sitting of the Board of the Bar of the Republic, but was not formally voted on. As explained by Abdul-Gadji Valigasanov, chairman of the commission to protect lawyers' rights, "the Board cannot make such decisions, as the law obliges lawyers to run cases by appointment." From other sources, for example, from the "Lawyers' Newspaper", it became known that the Board members were ready to announce a protest action, but Boris Aguzov, the chair of the Bar, was against it.

"No decision was made on this issue; we intend to apply again to higher law enforcement bodies: the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Dagestan, the head of the Investigatory Committee and the Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman). We need to prove our rightness within the framework of the law. A strike is not a good answer," said Boris Aguzov.

In his opinion, the advocates' refusal to take part in criminal cases by appointment could lead to worsening of the situation for lawyers themselves.