Defendant faints at trial on Nalchik attack case

Today, at the court session on the events of October 13, 2005, in Nalchik, one of the defendants, Azamat Akhkubekov, asked the court to ensure his safety in connection with his announced hunger strike, while the defendant Khabas Emkuzhev lost consciousness.

Let us remind you that on April 18, 24 defendants announced their intention to go on hunger strike in the context of the fact that refrigerators and TV-sets were taken away from their cells.

In the course of interrogation, the advocate Tatiana Psomiadi made a statement that the defendant Khabas Emkuzhev, who is on hunger strike for the third day already, was losing his consciousness. "I ask to call a doctor to my client," she said.

A 15-minute break was announced; and a doctor from the SIZO came to Emkuzhev. He examined the defendant and issued a certificate that Khabas Emkuzhev "had no pathology and could take part in the session."

Advocate Psomiadi said that the doctor's conclusion was misleading and asked the court to give her a copy of the certificate in order to challenge it at the court. "There are a lot of people here; and everybody saw that it was a hungry faint. Emkuzhev is not eating for three days," said the lawyer.

The chairing judge said that the lawyer will receive a copy of the certificate.

Then, the defendant Azamat Akhkubekov asked the court to ensure his safety. According to his story, the SIZO managers believe him to be the organizer of the hunger strike; and they threatened him because of that.

The chairing judge Gorislavskaya said that Akhkubekov's statement will be sent - as an excerpt from the protocol - to the Investigatory Committee.

A statement was also made by the defendant Murat Midov. He said that a month had expired after the application about the beating of Khupsergenov, Berov and other defendants had been lodged to the Investigatory Committee, but so far no officials from there visited the SIZO. "The situation in the SIZO leads to disruption and protraction of the trial... We demand to stop illegal actions of the SIZO administration of prison; drive 'people in masks' out of the facility and ensure proper delivery of our complaints," said his statement.

The court has announced a report on the results of the prosecutor's check conducted on the complaint of the defendant Bappinaev and others.

The report states that on March 3-4 actions were undertaken at the SIZO in connection with the transfer of prisoners from one building to the other new one; and, therefore, the prohibited items were confiscated from the cells.

"No physical force was applied to you; and no materials of the criminal case were taken away from you," said the report. The refrigerators and TV-sets confiscated from the defendants, are not on the list of prohibited items, the report states; however, but "they are on the balance sheet of the facility and are its property."