Judge of Chechen SC calls pressure by power agents as reason of his self-disqualification

Vakhid Abubakarov, a judge of the Supreme Court (SC) of the Chechen Republic has dismissed himself from the case of Suleiman Edigov, who is accused of an attempt on the life of a law enforcer and illegal arms circulation. The judge said that he was subjected to the pressure by a high-ranking MIA official, after which the sentences announced by him may look biased.

The self-rejection statement reads that the reason was in a telephone call "by a person who presented himself as the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic Lieutenant General Ruslan Alkhanov," who warned the judge from passing an acquittal.

The judge believes that the call could be caused by the fact that the court has evidence enough for accusing policemen of grave crimes.

Igor Kalyapin, the chairman of the "Committee against Torture" and a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Development of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights, said that it is not for the first time that rights defenders receive information about the pressure exerted by high-ranking Chechen bureaucrats on local judicial bodies. "However, for the first time we see here a principled and legitimate reaction of the judge. Apparently, the lawlessness and absolute power of law enforcers in Chechnya is outraged not only by ordinary citizens of the republic, but also of the employees of the judiciary," said Igor Kalyapin.