Court of appeal refuses to change verdict to Malika Djikaeva

On March 3, the Supreme Court of Chechnya upheld the verdict in a case on drug possession against Instagram blogger Malika Djikaeva from North Ossetia, her advocate reports today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported on March 9, 2020, Malika Djikaeva was detained in Grozny on suspicion of drug possession, and on December 11, 2020, in Grozny, a court sentenced her to three years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony. Malika Djikaeva pleaded not guilty and filed an appeal against the verdict to the Supreme Court (SC) of Chechnya.

At a court hearing held on March 3, the Supreme Court of Chechnya upheld the verdict to Malika Djikaeva, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed today by advocate Inara Bedoeva.

The advocate pointed out to the Court that numerous violations had been committed during the detention of Malika Djikaeva. "They did not search Malika Djikaeva until two hours passed after she had been brought to a police station. My client left her bag unattended when they took her from one office to another during two hours. I spoke about these and other violations at the hearing of the Supreme Court, but my claims were not taken into account. The verdict has been upheld, and we will file an appeal against it to the Fifth Cassation Court in Pyatigorsk," Inara Bedoeva reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 4, 2021 at 06:47 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.