Family members of Kislovodsk Imam appeal to rights defenders for help in stopping criminal proceedings against him

Family members of Kurman-Ali Baichorov, the Imam of Kislovodsk, the Deputy Mufti of the Stavropol Territory, who is accused of drug possession, have appealed for help to rights defenders and staff members of the Ombudsman's Office in Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 29, 2013, Kurman-Ali (Kurman) Baichorov was charged with illegal possession of narcotic drugs. His retinue treated the charge as a provocation and expressed the opinion that the reason was in the Imam's irreconcilable position in the issue of the mosques in Kislovodsk.

On August 28, the Ombudsman's Office in Chechnya held a meeting with the family members of the Imam. The meeting was attended by Timur Aliev, the Chairman of the Human Rights Council under the Chechen leader, advocate of Ali Baichorov, and rights defenders.

At the request of the family members of Kurman-Ali Baichorov, the Ombudsman's Office in Chechnya will "make efforts within its competence to stop the unlawful prosecution of the Deputy Mufti of the Stavropol Territory", the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Zaurbek Sadakhanov, a Moscow advocate, an adviser to the Chechen Ombudsman.

According to him, the Kurman-Ali Baichorov's case involves "violation of fundamental human rights, including unlawful prosecution."

"The very fact that they had allegedly found drugs at the house of the man, whose personality cannot be associated with drugs, is very questionable," Zaurbek Sadakhanov has stated.

Following the results of the meeting, the participants have sent an appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Vladimirov, the Acting Head of the Stavropol Territory, with a request to control the investigation into the case.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.