Advocate of Kislovodsk Imam goes on hunger strike

Adam Abubakarov, an advocate of Kurman-Ali Baichorov, the Imam of Kislovodsk, accused of drug trafficking, has declared a hunger strike to protest against the actions of the Judge of the Predgorny District Court of the Stavropol Territory.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 22, Kurman-Ali Baichorov declared the hunger strike and stated that the Court had violated his right to defence. Kurman-Ali Baichorov pleads not guilty. His supporters associate criminal proceedings against the Imam with his rigid position concerning mosques in Kislovodsk, where the authorities banned their construction.

Advocate Adam Abubakarov has reported that he agrees with the position of his client and that he treats the Court's action as "criminal". According to the advocate, the last drop was the Judge's attempt to skip prematurely to the debate, "when even the prosecutor had expressed his indignation."

The advocate calls on Vladimir Putin to create and send to the Stavropol Territory a commission to assess "criminal and extralegal situation involving gross and flagrant violation of the rights of defendant Kurman-Ali Baichorov."

Alaudi Musaev, a colleague of Adam Abubakarov, has added that in his turn, he will try to meet Mikhail Fedotov, the Chairman of the Presidential Council on Human Rights, to pass the information about the case to the Russian President. Besides, Alaudi Musaev will file a motion to postpone the trial to a later date.