Man accused of kidnapping Israeli woman in Nalchik pleads not guilty

The Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria has started to consider the case against Magomet Kushtov, a native of Ingushetia, accused of kidnapping Laura Likhtman, a citizen of Israel, in 1999.

According to investigators, Laura Likhtman, a 22-year-old citizen of Israel, was kidnapped in Nalchik in July 1999. The young woman was kept for six months in Chechnya, and criminals demanded one million US dollars for her release. In December 1999, Laura Likhtman was released by law enforcers. In 2003, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria found Musa Aushev, a native of the Ingush village of Surkhakhi, guilty of kidnapping Laura Likhtman and sentenced him to 13 years of imprisonment. In August 2001, Bulat Umalatov, a resident of the Chechen town of Urus-Martan, who was also involved in the kidnapping, was sentenced to 7.5 years of imprisonment.

On November 28, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria started hearings in the case against Magomet Kushtov, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

During the hearing, public prosecutor read out the indictment, according to which the kidnapping involved six people, including Bulat Umalatov, a resident of Chechnya, Ingush residents Musa Aushev and Magomet Kushtov, and three other persons unidentified by investigators.

When asked at the trial, whether he pleaded guilty, Magomet Kushtov answered in the negative.

According to Magomed-Gery Nalgiev, an advocate of Magomet Kushtov, during all those years, the defendant resided in one of the villages of the Prigorodny District of North Ossetia. At present, he is 63 years old, and he has four adult children, notes Magomed-Gery Nalgiev.

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