Lawyers assess Djumaev's chances for conditional imprisonment

The resonance around the story of Said-Mukhammad Djumaev was caused by the fact that he has become the first Chechen in many years to take the side of the opposition, Musa Lomaev, a blogger, and Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, believe. Djumaev can avoid imprisonment for a fight with law enforcers, if he pleads guilty, lawyers have suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 23, at an action in support of the opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, Djumaev, entered into a confrontation with law enforcers. He was detained and charged with violence against state servants.

Musa Lomaev believes that Djumaev's story does not speak of support for Navalny by Chechens. "For all Caucasians, Navalny is a man who hates the Caucasus; and his advent to power will mean a new war in the Caucasus," Mr Lomaev has stated, adding that in his opinion Djumaev ended up in a square in Moscow and started a fight by accident.

Oyub Titiev, a rights defender, has noted that Djumaev went to the action not for Navalny's sake, but "for the sake of freedom." He has also indicated that Chechen authorities are still in full control over the Chechen Diaspora in Moscow.

Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, the acting head of the Moscow branch of the Committee against Torture (CaT), has explained that Djumaev and his defence should admit the charge, confess everything and compensate for moral harm. He also believes that republic's authorities are trying to get an apology from Djumaev.