Defendant in case of terror act in Budyonnovsk transferred to Pyatigorsk SIZO

Ramzan Belyalov, a defendant in the case of the armed attack on Budyonnovsk in 1995, has been transferred from the SIZO (pre-trial prison) of the city of Yessentuki to the "White Swan", the SIZO of Pyatigorsk. This was reported by Khusein Belyalov, a detainee's son. Relatives, friends, and defenders of the detainee declare his innocence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 2, Ramzan Belyalov, a native of Chechnya, was detained in Gudermes on suspicion of involvement in the militants' attack on the town of Budyonnovsk in June 1995.

According to the detainee's relatives, Ramzan Belyalov was in Bashkiria when Budyonnovsk was attacked. Khusein Belyalov has also expressed his confusion concerning the information disseminated by the media and stating that his father was hiding from the investigating authorities for a long time.

According to Khalid Belyalov, a brother of Ramzan Belyalov, the investigators' accusations are false, since "from May 1995 till December 1995, Ramzan Belyalov was a member of the construction brigade and was engaged in construction of rural infrastructure facilities at the 'Makansky' state farm in Bashkiria".

Said-Akhmed Musaev, the head of the mission of the Chechen leader in Bashkiria, has confirmed that in the period from May 1995 to February 1996, Ramzan Belyalov was in Bashkiria and worked as a builder.

Advocate Sergey Zagnoiko suggests that law enforcers detained Ramzan Belyalov on the basis of their own assumptions.

Chechen Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev has reported that he is collecting documents confirming the presence of Ramzan Belyalov in Bashkiria in the period from May 1995 until February 1996.

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