12:38, 9 September 2017

Chechen SC upholds verdict to publicist Rizvan Ibragimov

Rizvan Ibragimov. Photo: screenshot of the video https://www.kavkazr.com/a/28529802.html

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Chechen Republic has upheld the decision of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Grozny to sentence Rizvan Ibragimov, a Chechen publicist, to 2.5 years of conditional imprisonment for inciting hatred and enmity. Relatives and friends of Rizvan Ibragimov treated the verdict as expected.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the publicist claimed the criminal proceedings against him were instituted by the law enforcement agencies of the Chechen Republic.

In July 2016, the books written by Rizvan Ibragimov were recognized as extremist. At the trial, he claimed he was kidnapped by law enforcers in April 2016 and then was subjected to torture with electric current. Rizvan Ibragimov called the subsequent meeting with Ramzan Kadyrov a "public humiliation."

An acquaintance of Rizvan Ibragimov has said that the publicist "believes he is innocent and intends to achieve justice."

According to Ramzan, a member of a local NGO, "the judicial system once again demonstrated its inadequacy and dependence on the opinion of the republic's leaders."

Rizvan Ibragimov is an author of the books "The Mystery of the Prophets' Genealogy," "The Jewish nation is not the one it pretend to be", "The Message on the Nokhchi Nation," "Palestine? No, Chechnya!", "Berke, Juchi, or Bers-Shaykh". In their books, the publicist puts forward a version of the Chechen origin of the biblical prophets and famous historical figures.

Local observers note that after the start of the persecution against the publicist the interest in his books has increased significantly.

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

Source: CK correspondent