Decision to extend arrest of natives of Chechnya Tsatsaev and Kautarov was made without due reason, defence says

The advocates of the natives of Chechnya Timirlan Tsatsaev and Aslan Kautarov, accused of assaulting a Moscow policeman, said they would appeal against the court's ruling to extend the detention of their clients. According to advocates, until now, investigators have not checked the defendants' alibi.

The above two natives of Chechnya, Tsatsaev, 21, and Kautarov, 22, are suspected of an armed assault on a Moscow policeman. They were detained; and the court ruled to keep them in custody until December 28. Their relatives and advocates assert that the detainees have alibi, and that they were tortured by the police.

On December 24, the Nikulino Court in Moscow extended the custody of Tsatsaev and Kautarov by two months. Investigators justified it by the need to conduct investigative actions and check the commission by the defendants of other similar crimes.

Their advocates Risalat Andisova and Shamkhan Yunusov did not agree with the investigators' petition, treating their arguments as unjustified, stating the innocence of their clients and the fact that the proofs at the preliminary investigation were obtained by using "illegal methods of investigation."

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