17:47, 15 July 2014

Said Amirov's advocates challenge the verdict at court

Advocates of Said Amirov at the court session on July 9, 2014. Photo by Oleg Pchelov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The advocates of the dismissed Makhachkala Mayor Said Amirov and his nephew Yusup Djaparov, convicted on charges of planning a terror act, have filed a complaint against the verdict, said Vladimir Postanyuk, the head of the defence group.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 9 Said Amir and Yusup Djaparov were sentenced to 10 and 8.5 years in a high-security colony respectively. According to the prosecution, they had planned to make use of a surface-to-air missile system to shoot down the plane, which was supposed to carry Saigid Murtazaliev, the head of the Russian Pension Fund in Dagestan. The defendants refused to plead guilty.

According to Postanyuk, the advocates have submitted a brief appeal to the North-Caucasian District Military Court, in which they disagreed with the verdict. Within a month, after a detailed study of the sentence, they will file an extended complaint to be considered by the Military Collegium of the Russian Supreme Court, the RIA "Novosti" reports.