Defendants in KBR's caliphate case refuse to plead guilty

The figurants in the case on an attempt to create a caliphate in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) have rejected in the court their confessions made under pressure during the preliminary investigation, said the advocate of one of the defendants.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 10, Northern Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don received a criminal case against 10 residents of the KBR, accused of an attempt to create a caliphate in the republic with the Sharia form of ruling. The hearing of the case is scheduled for August 23.

Aralbek Dumanishev, an advocate of the accused Islam Shogenov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that all the defendants, who had testified at the preliminary investigation under pressure, at the court session declared their innocence.

"Despite the fact that my client was under pressure, Shogenov has not signed the protocols; he rejects all the points of his indictment," Mr Dumanishev has stated, adding that he intends to provide the court with the documents proving that his client was under pressure during the investigation.

"We have a conclusion of a medical expert and 20 refusals to institute a criminal case against the policemen who had tortured Shogenov," said the advocate.

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