Law enforcers detain mothers of Derbent residents accused of terrorism

Mothers of Islam Barzukaev and Gasan Kurbanov, who were arrested in a case of terrorism, were brought to the Makhachkala ROVD (District Interior Division). The women planned to hold a protest action with the demand for a medical examination of their sons and an unbiased investigation into the defendants' claims of torture.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in March, Islam Barzukaev, a resident of Derbent, as well as Gasan Kurbanov and Mirzaali Mirzaliev (also mentioned by the media as Mirazali Mizaraliev), who were detained together with him, complained that law enforcers used torture and threats and forced them to sign confessions in a case on terrorism. Relatives of the arrested men repeatedly held protests with the demand to stop the "lawlessness" in the republic.

Today, the mothers of Islam Barzukaev and Gasan Kurbanov have planned to hold solo pickets in front of the building of the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan to draw public attention to the fabrication of the criminal case against their sons. The women left Derbent in the morning, but when they were leaving the Derbent District, their car was stopped by law enforcers, reported Elena Barzukaeva, the mother of Islam Barzukaev.

"They kept us at the checkpoint for about an hour, but finally, they let us continue our trip," Elena Barzukaeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

After the women entered Makhachkala, their car was again stopped by the police. Law enforcers claimed that they got an operative information concerning the car and that the women should go with them to the Soviet ROVD. Being accompanied by a police service car, the women drove to the police station, Elena Barzukaeva reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 21, 2020 at 01:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.