In Chechnya, verdict to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent Zhalaudi Geriev challenged

The criminal case against Zhalaudi Geriev, a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot", contains a lot of contradictions and obviously falsified materials, and thus, the sentence pronounced against him should be cancelled. This was reported by the defence in the appeal filed against the verdict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 5, the Shali District Court of Chechnya sentenced Zhalaudi Geriev to three years of imprisonment on the charge of unlawful possession of marijuana.

The defence treats as inconsistent the prosecutors' allegations that Zhalaudi Geriev collected marijuana in August and not in October when the plants mature. Besides, according to the defence, the prosecutors see no contradiction in the fact that on the day before those events, Zhalaudi Geriev registered an electronic ticket for a plane and supposed to go to the airport at the moment.

According to the advocates, law enforcers had no reasons to stop and search Zhalaudi Geriev. According to the law enforcers, they suspected the journalist of an administrative offense, but referred to his wearing a beard.

The advocates also believe that the protocols of testimonies from the place of the Zhalaudi Geriev's detention and of interrogation of witnesses were also falsified. According to the advocates, the witnesses were "hired."

According to the advocates, an investigator arrived at the detention centre with the already printed protocols and Zhalaudi Geriev was supposed to sign everything as requested. However, Zhalaudi Geriev himself pointed out that his signatures on documents had been forged.

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