Relatives of detained Imam of Kislovodsk refute official investigators' version

Close relatives of Kurmanali Baichorov, the Imam of the mosque of Kislovodsk, have refuted the version of law enforcers, according to which the Imam was brought to the police station by GIBDD (road police) inspectors for possession of drugs.

According to the investigators' information, on October 17, 2013, in the town of Mirny of the Predgorny District of the StavropolTerritory, the GIBDD inspectors stopped a car, driven by Kurmanali Baichorov. He has refused to present his documents, and after that, according to the investigators, the GIBDD inspectors called an investigator and searched a car. During the search, according to the materials of the case, law enforcers found heroin in pockets of the Imam's clothes.

Meanwhile, the Imam's relatives and advocates argue that the detention was carried out in a different way and under different circumstances. The relatives of Kurmanali Baichorov stated that the Imam was detained by men with guns and in masks, when he was returning home. Kurmanali Baichorov was accused of rendering resistance to the power agents, and a protocol on administrative violation was drawn up against him. According to the Imam's advocates, personal search of the Imam, during which a packet of heroin was pulled out from his pocket, was carried out at the OVD (Interior Division).

Safarbi Malkanduev, who represents the interests of the Imam, is confident that the prosecution of Kurmanali Baichorov was started because of his conflict with the authorities of Kislovodsk, which occurred after the Imam decided to build a mosque in the city centre in spite of the city administration's plans.