Trial on terror act in Sheikh Chirkey's house postponed till September 5

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has postponed until September 5 the consideration on the merits of the terror act, which killed the religious leader Said Afandi al-Chirkawi and six other persons. The break is needed for to one of the defendants to get acquainted with the indictment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on Wednesday the SC began the consideration of the merits.

In the course of the session, the chairing judge noted that none of the 10 victims has appeared and asked the parties whether it was possible to start the trial in the absence of the victims. The public prosecutors was not against; however, the chairing judge noted that he would still have to postpone the trial, because the defendant Labazanov needs time to study the indictment.

The court has also considered the question of extending the custody, since the prosecution asked to extend it for all the by other six months, while the advocates called for replacing the custody by home arrest.

Rinat Gamidov, Labazanov's advocate referred to the fact that the personnel of the SIZO (pre-trial prison) hamper his meetings with his client, thereby violating the latter's right to defence.

As a result, the panel of judges has ruled to extend the defendants' custody till January 10, 2015.