After victory at Dagestani SC, Eduard Ataev left in custody

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has declared illegal the extension of the arrest of Eduard Ataev, the former coordinator of Navalny's office* in Makhachkala, but he was left in custody. The court has received a criminal case against the activist; and the article on drug dealing was added to the charge of possessing explosives.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 27, 2022, Eduard Ataev was suspected of possessing an explosive device and placed in custody. Ataev claims that the grenade was planted on him.

The Dagestani SC has partially satisfied Eduard Ataev's appeal complaint and declared illegal the decision of the Khasavyurt District Court to extend his arrest from June 25 to July 18. The ruling of the first-instance court of was cancelled due to "significant violations of the law of criminal procedure." However, Ataev still remains in the SIZO (pre-trial prison), since his custody was extended by other judgements, the "OVD-Info"** human rights project reported on August 13.

As follows from the case card available on the website of the Dagestani SC, Eduard Ataev is charged under articles on illegal drug dealing, as well as two episodes of illegal trafficking in weapons and explosives.

*In Russia, the Navalny's offices have been recognized as extremist organizations and are included into the list of banned ones. Alexei Navalny is the organizer of the FBK (Fund to Combat Corruption), an organization that is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice into the register of NCOs that act as foreign agents.

**By decision of the Russian Ministry of Justice, the project was included into the list of unregistered public associations performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 13, 2022 at 07:12 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.