In Dagestan, court re-examines case against Nursi's follower

The Federal Court of Lenin District of the city of Makhachkala started hearings on the appeal of Ziyavdin Dapaev, a follower of Turkish theologian Said Nursi. Ziyavdin Dapaev had been sentenced to two years of conditional imprisonment on charges of organizing an extremist organization "Nurdzhular".

On May 18 Judge Vera Ivashkina found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to two years of conditional imprisonment. On July 28 Dapaev lodged an appeal against the decision.

"The Court is chaired by Federal Judge Magomed Ozhelov. My interests are defended by a lawyer Murtuzali Barakaev. Firstly, the court listened to me. I said that my sentence was unlawful; it had an anti-Islamic background, since the writings of Said Nursi were banned. Then the floor was given to Barakaev. He supported me. In his turn, the public prosecutor considers the sentence lawful. After having listened to both sides, the judge postponed the hearing for tomorrow (August 4)," Ziyavdin Dapaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The criminal case was instituted against Dapaev on December 17, 2009, under Article of "Organization of the extremist organization's activity" of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Starting October 15, 2010, Dapaev is under the recognizance not to leave the place. The trial commenced on January 24, 2011. The defendant pleads not guilty.