Grozny resident sentenced to two years in prison on charges of involvement in Syrian War

A court in Grozny has sentenced Said Mazhaev, a resident of the Staropromyslovskiy District of the Chechen capital, accused of involvement in the warfare in Syria as a militant, to two years of imprisonment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mazhaev went to Syria in November 2013, and until January 14, was among the ranks of local militants. Upon his return home, Said was detained and gave a confession to investigators. His relatives emphasize that he got was disappointed in his views on the events in Syria and returned home voluntarily.

The sentence to Said Mazhaev was handed down on November 10, said an official of the Prosecutor's Office of Chechnya. He recalled that Mazhaev was accused under Part 2, Article 208 (participation in illegal armed formations in the territory of a foreign state for the purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation), of the Russian Criminal Code.

Relatives and friends of Said Mazhaev treat the verdict as overly severe.

"To be honest, we are all shocked by what has happened. Until recently, there was hope that Said would be, if not justified, at least sentenced conditionally. After all, except for what he himself told the investigators, there are no other evidence of his guilt," one of Said's female relatives told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on the condition of anonymity.

Another close friend of the Mazhaev family, who also preferred to remain anonymous, was highly dissatisfied with the verdict, pointing out that the young man had sincerely repented, spoke out on television with an appeal to young people not to repeat his mistakes and told about what is really happening in Syria.

This is the second sentence to a combatant in Syria, imposed by the court in Chechnya. The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in early October it became known that Rustam Kerimov, a resident of Grozny, received three years in prison for involvement in Syrian warfare.

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