Dagestani woman asks Russian President to take investigation into murder of her daughter under personal control

On May 11, Muslimat Magomedova, the resident of the village of Nechaevka of the Kizilyurt District of Dagestan, sent to President Vladimir Putin an appeal, in which she asked him to take investigation into the murder of Maryam Magomedova, her daughter, under his personal control and take steps to ensure that the criminal case against the murderers would be brought to court.

The 22-year-old Maryam Magomedova was killed in August 2010. "The cause was a one-time SMS-message and then immediate phone call to the phone of my daughter from a man, whom she did not know and whose identity had not been established till present," states Muslimat Magomedova in her appeal. She continues: "It is possible that the phone SMS-message and call had been adjusted by someone. She was murdered by prior agreement of her father's relatives and was secretly buried at shallow depth in the cemetery of the village of Nechaevka."

The case obtained a resonance due to the media. However, according to Muslimat Magomedova, law enforcement bodies of the Kizilyurt District "made every possible effort to avoid punishment of the murderer": the militia had not responded to the report of disappearance of the woman, and after finding of the body, they arrived in the place only on the following day; the cause of death had not been established because of non-conducting of the autopsy, and because of that fact, later, they had to carry out the exhumation.

Salimat Kadyrova, the victim's lawyer, explained the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that was the so-called "killing for reputation".

According to the lawyer, in the case of Magomedova, the criminal case was instituted only 17 days after finding of the body. "Everyone in the district knows who the murderer is. He is a Maryam's male relative from her father's side. Only after our persistent appeals, he was put into the wanted list, and on October 16, 2010, he was taken into custody. On the same day, charge was filed against him; however, a year later, he was released, and the investigation was terminated. Due to the media's attention, the case was not closed; however, the investigation is delayed," stated the lawyer.

On this March 15, the case on the murder of Maryam Magomedova was seized and brought to the Investigatory Division of Critical Cases of the Investigatory Department of the Investigatory Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) in Dagestan. This was reported by the Kizilyurt Inter-District Investigatory Division.

"At present, no charges have been filed against anybody; we collect evidences, re-interrogate victims and witnesses," clarified Rasul Temirbekov, Senior Assistant of Chief for Media Relations of the Investigatory Department of the ICRF in Dagestan. He continued: "The case is under the control of the ICRF. We monthly report to Boris Karnaukhov, Deputy Chairman of the ICRF. Resolutions on suspension and termination of the case have been cancelled, and the investigation has been resumed. Earlier, we tried to bring the case to court; however, prosecutors did not approve the indictment: apparently, they treated found evidence as insufficient."