Rostov-on-Don: court questions four defence witnesses in Said Amirov's case

On June 2, in Rostov-on-Don, at the trial in the case against Said Amirov, Mayor of Makhachkala, who is temporarily dismissed from office and accused of plotting a terror act, the court interrogated four witnesses invited by the defence.

Two experts invited as witnesses doubted the correctness of the DNA examinations conducted during the preliminary investigation. The personal assistant of Said Amirov has stated he had never seen Abdulgalimov in the city administration of Makhachkala. The former head of the Kirov District of the Dagestani capital have reported to the court that the Makhachkala organizations have no debts to the Pension Fund.

At the court session held on June 2, the defence filed a motion to interrogate Andrei Semikhodsky, PhD in the field of general and molecular genetics, Director of the British company "MedicalGenomics", specializing in DNA examinations.

Basing on the examination conducted, Andrei Semikhodsky has doubted the correctness of the examination conducted during the investigation. For example, the expert has mentioned such revealed violations committed in the course of the examination as use of products and tools, including cotton swabs, uncertified against the absence of DNA. Nevertheless, they were used for collection of samples for analysis of biological trace from a man-portable air defence system (MANPADS).

In his turn, forensic expert Boris Yavorsky has revealed a number of violations in the expert opinion issued during the preliminary investigation. He has questioned the results used as a basis for conclusion that the biological traces on the MANPADS belonged to Djaparov and Abdulgalimov.

See earlier reports: "At Amirov's trial, prosecution ends presenting evidence", "In Rostov-on-Don, prosecution witness in Amirov's case states torture in SIZO", "Murtazaliev: Amirov's supporters tried to force me to refuse evidencing against him".