Chechnya: at Timur Tangiev's trial prosecution witness complains about torture, advocate asserts

On June 25, the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya held the court hearing in the case against Timur Tangiev. The SC used video conferencing to question Magomed Chagaev, a prosecution witness, who is serving his sentence in a penal colony in the Chelyabinsk Region. According to Ruslan Bekov, one of Timur Tangiev's advocates, Magomed Chagaev complained about torture and claimed that he had never testified against Timur Tangiev.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 5, 2004, the Supreme Court of Chechnya found Timur Tangiev, a resident of Grozny, guilty of grave and especially grave crimes and sentenced the defendant to 24 years of imprisonment. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that the Russian authorities had violated the rights of Timur Tangiev. Then, the Presidium of the Supreme Court sent the Timur Tangiev's case back for reconsideration.

Magomed Chagaev was involved in the same criminal case as Timur Tangiev.

According to Ruslan Bekov, the advocate of Timur Tangiev, the defence hoped very much that Magomed Chagaev would give truthful testimony and that the jurors would listen to the truth. "The testimony given by Magomed Chagaev was more than convincing: he and Timur Tangiev made their confession statements under torture," Ruslan Bekov has stated. The advocate added that during the interrogation of Magomed Chagaev, the judge and the public prosecutor constantly interrupted the witness and asked questions to lead away from the essence of the case.