02:49, 26 July 2016

Imam Makhmud Velitov's case classified, his advocate reports

Makhmud Velitov. Photo: http://www.svoboda.org/content/article/27854193.html

The investigators have made a decision to classify a case against Makhmud Velitov, the Imam of the mosque "Yardyam" in Moscow, whose statements concerning Abdulla Gappaev, a religious figure, killed in Kizlyar, were treated by the investigators as a public justification of terrorism. This was reported by the defendant's advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 11, law enforcers detained Imam Makhmud Velitov. According to the defence, the investigators believe that the Imam's statements about Abdulla Gappaev, voiced in an interview and during a sermon, justified terrorism. On July 12, the court placed Makhmud Velitov under house arrest until August 27.

Abdulla Gappaev, a religious figure, was shot dead at night on September 16, 2013. According to his friends, he received threats from law enforcers after the incident with a wedding party cortege with Islamic flags, which occurred in Kizlyar on April 27, 2013. Eyewitnesses claimed that the law enforcers beat participants of the wedding party, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) reported on the detention of extremists.

Advocate Dagir Khasavov had to sign a recognizance not to disclose the information, the "Interfax" reports.

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