Whereabouts of Rustam Ismailov again unknown, his lawyer asserts

In Dagestan, Gadjimurad Ismailov, a lawyer of the "Kavkaz" Bar, again cannot locate whereabouts of Rustam Ismailov, who was detained in Makhachkala on suspicion of bearing a firearm.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 23, on the road from the village of Semender to Makhachkala, unidentified persons kidnapped Rustam Ismailov, born in 1980. This was reported by relatives of the kidnapped man. In the evening, they gathered in front of the building of the Kirov ROVD (District Interior Division) of Makhachkala, where, according to them, Rustam Ismailov was kept.

On June 23, Abdurakhman Yunusov, the head of the Information and Analytical Centre "Rakurs" (Perspective), stated with reference to representatives of the Kirov ROVD of Makhachkala that Rustam Ismailov was brought to the Centre to Combat Extremism. However, the lawyer Gadjimurad Ismailov has stated that the Centre denies that Rustam Ismailov is being kept at their place and that his whereabouts is unknown.

On the other day, it became known that Rustam Ismailov was kept in the temporary detention facility (IVS). In the morning of June 24, Gadjimurad Ismailov met him at the IVS.

After that, according to the lawyer, Rustam Ismailov was again driven away to some unknown destination. Today, according to Gadjimurad Ismailov, during the entire day, he was again trying to locate whereabouts of his client.

"During the day, I visited all instances; however, they all tell me that Rustam was not kept at their places. At present, I am sitting at the entrance to the building of the Federal Court of the Lenin District of Makhachkala in the hope that they will bring the defendant here to extend the detention, since 48 hours have passed from the time, when Rustam was detained, after that, the court should grant sanction to extend the Rustam's detention," the lawyer said.

He has also said that he cannot contact the investigator, who considers the case.

"I try to meet Vadim Mukov, the investigator for especially important cases of the Investigatory Committee of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD); however, I am told that no one knows of his whereabouts. It seems that the power agents are simply playing for time, and I will appeal today to the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan with a complaint of flagrant violations of the law," the lawyer stated.