21:48, 26 April 2019

Court acquits suspect of killing Chechen law enforcers

Rasambek Bekmurzaev with a relative in front of the court building. Photo by Konstantin Volgin for the Caucasian Knot

Rasambek Bekmurzaev, a native of Chechnya, has been fined for crime concealment, but was found innocent in killing of three law enforcers and involvement in the armed underground, the court has ruled today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that during consideration of the case, Bekmurzaev's wife issued an open appeal, in which she declared her husband's innocence and asked the head of Chechnya to help to return him home. On April 19, Bekmurzaev's innocence was recognized by the jury. After that, Bekmurzaev was released under recognizance not to leave.

On June 21, 2017, 37-year-old Rasambek Bekmurzaev was detained in the city of Urus-Martan. According to the investigation, after the suspect had killed three law enforcers, he was admitted to a militant grouping led by Arbi Baraev, a well-known field commander (killed in a special operation in 2001), and in recent years, the suspect worked as a taxi driver in Chechnya.

Rasambek Bekmurzaev has been found innocent by the North-Caucasian District Military Court on all indictment points, except for one, "crime concealment". "He was sentenced to a fine of 80,000 roubles," the press service of the court told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 26, 2019 at 06:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Konstantin Volgin

Source: CK correspondent