Witness in "Caliphate case" tells about his criminal record

At the trial of an attempt to create a caliphate in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) Valery Dimitrov was questioned, who was a witness of detention of two defendants in January 2014. He said that in 2011 he was convicted and was serving his conditional sentence. The defence believes that this fact puts the witness into dependence from power agents.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case against 10 KBR residents, accused of trying to set up a caliphate in the republic with the Sharia form of ruling, is being considered since August by the North-Caucasian District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. On December 13, four witnesses confirmed the alibi of Oleg Miskhozhev and Akhmed Balkarov.

According to investigators, all the 10 defendants were members of an illegal armed formation (IAF), the aim of which was to change the constitutional order and establishment of a caliphate in the KBR. They are also charged with an attempt on December 26, 2013, on Police Colonel Arthur Tembotov.

On December 15, by means of video conference from the Garrison Court in Nalchik, the court questioned Valery Dimitrov, who on January 10, 2014, was a witness of inspecting Miskhozhev and Balkarov.

Dimitrov was sitting in a "cage" with a microphone, as in January 2016 he was convicted of robbery.

Also, the witness said that in 2011 he was brought to criminal responsibility and sentenced to 2.5 years of conditional imprisonment.

At the next session, on December 27, the defence will continue moving motions demanding to exclude from the case files the testimonies, believed to be inappropriate, according to advocates.

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