12:18, 11 August 2021

Defence demands to question Evkurov under the case of Ingush protest leaders

Barakh Chemurziev at the court hearing. Photo by Alyona Sadovskaya for the "Caucasian Knot"

At the court session, an advocate asked the court to summon Yunus-Bek Evkurov, a former head of Ingushetia, and Zyalimkhan Evloev, a former Prime Minister of Ingushetia, as witnesses in the case of Magas protesters. Ten defence witnesses have confirmed the defendants' innocence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case of seven Ingush protest leaders, accused of creating an extremist community, has been considered by the court since November 2020. A number of prosecution witnesses, including law enforcers, have stated that the defendants had not provoked activists, but on the contrary, urged them not to clash with law enforcers.

Movsar Gagiev, a witness, stated at the trial that he did not know any of the defendants, but treats them with respect. He rejected the suggestion that he has come to the rally at someone's appeal.

According to the advocate, the witnesses' testimonies presented on August 10 confirmed the defence's position that "the defendants didn't create any extremist community; and at the rally, there were no calls for any extremist actions."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 11, 2021 at 04:27 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Alyona Sadovskaya

Source: CK correspondent