In Dagestan, student Marsel Gamidov admits his guilt of possession of pistol; he sentenced conditionally

On April 10, the Khasavyurt District Court of Dagestan pronounced the verdict in the case against Marsel Gamidov, a resident of the village of Karlanyurt, accused of illegal possession of firearms. The defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of conditional sentence. The lawyer and the public defender of Marsel Gamidov believe that the young man incriminated himself.

The court hearing, held on April 10, listened to oral statements of the parties. Ruslan Umaev, the lawyer of Marsel Gamidov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that all of a sudden, Marsel Gamidov pleaded guilty of the crime.

"I am fully convinced in the innocence of my client. The fact that he admitted that he had allegedly found a pistol near a water reservoir and then hid it at home is a complete self-incrimination! Why he did that, I do not know," emphasized the lawyer.

He does not deny that "maybe, it was a deal with investigators; however, this assumption has not been confirmed by the fact."

"At the debate, I said that I was confident of my client's self-incrimination. However, I could not change his testimony; therefore, I asked the judge for leniency in sentencing, taking into account the defendant's young age and the fact that he had no criminal records," says Ruslan Umaev.

Speaking at the trial, Marsel Gamidov himself said that only at that time he made a confession, since he had to pass exams at the university starting from April 15. "I have to pass exams, and I would like to take care of my father, who was diagnosed with cancer. I hope that the court will take this into account," said Marsel Gamidov.

During the debate, the prosecution party represented by the Khasavyurt District Prosecutor's Office, insisted on the guilt of Marsel Gamidov.

As a result, Judge Magomed Aliev announced the decision, in accordance with which the defendant was found guilty of committing the crime under Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal possession of weapons), and he was sentenced to one year of conditional sentence.

After the verdict had been pronounced, Marsel Gamidov was released.

Elena Denisenko, the representative of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", who spoke at the request of the parents of Marsel Gamidov at the trial as the public defender, believes that Marsel Gamidov incriminated himself.