07:13, 5 October 2018

KBR court asks for 20 years in prison for Islam Gugov

Islam Gugov at a court session. Photo by Konstantin Volgin for the "Caucasian Knot"

The court has rejected the petition of Islam Gugov, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), who was accused of links with Syrian militants and claimed violations during the investigation. The prosecutor has treated the defence's version that Gugov's case was law enforcers' revenge on him as untenable.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case of a resident of Baksan Islam Gugov was considered by the North Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. On August 17, his father stated that law enforcers threatened to open a new criminal case against his son, if he refused to testify against another person.

The prosecution asserts that Islam Gugov was trained in Syria in militants' camps of the illegal armed grouping "Djeish al-Mukhadjirin val-Ansar" and the terrorist organization "Imarat Kavkaz", banned in Russia.

Gugov had believed law enforcers' promises that he would remain at liberty if he voluntarily returned from Syria to Russia; however, he was detained at the Nalchik Airport. His case is a precedent of law enforcers' ignoring their guarantees granted to voluntary returnees from the Middle East conflict, Oleg Orlov, a board member of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 4, 2018 at 09:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Konstantin Volgin

Source: CK correspondent