Defence of ex-deputy head of Cherkessk police asks the court to acquit him; verdict is expected on July 1

Evgeniy Kuzyur, the advocate of Ruslan Rakhaev, a former deputy head of the police of the city of Cherkessk, who is accused of abuse of power that led to the death of a person, has stated – in the course of the debate at the court – that the case was falsified, and asked the court to acquit his client.

According to investigators, on October 7, 2011, Rakhaev, aiming to obtain a confession, beat an administrative detainee Dakhir Djankezov; as a result of which Djankezov later died. The defendant and his advocate argue that Djankezov had been beaten before he got to Rakhaev's office.

At the court session on June 24, the advocate Kuzyur began his 4-hour-long speech with a statement that he intended to prove to the court and the public the absurdity of the charges brought against Rakhaev. He treated Rakhaev's case as "an example of lawlessness."

In his speech, the lawyer enumerated numerous facts, indicating, according to his opinion, the forgery of documents in the Djankezov's administrative detention: fakes, corrections, lack of bosses' visas on all documents. The time and place of Djankezov's detention are incorrect; and it has not been established who exactly had detained him, said Kuzyur.

The advocate asked the court to acquit his client. It is expected that the verdict on Rakhaev's case will be announced on July 1.