16:29, 13 October 2022

Interference of Chechen Ombudsperson man encourages Azmatgiriev's defence

A prison. Photo by Yelena Sineok, Yuga.ru

The office of the Chechen Ombudsperson has joined in solving the problem of violation of the rights of the convicted Khalid Azmatgiriev; and this gives hope that the abuse of the inmate will stop, said the advocate of the native of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mansur Soltaev, the Chechen Ombudsperson, has stated that he is doing "everything we can" in connection with violations of the rights of Khalid Azmatgiriev, a native of Chechnya, in at IK-18 (correctional colony) in Mordovia.

The reason for the Ombudsperson's reaction was the publication of a video stating that Azmatgiriev had been convicted "on a fabricated case" and cannot be released, since he is "all the time adding his sentence." Yuri Tkachenko, an advocate, said that Azmatgiriev is now serving his term in Mordovia; he has less than two months left until release, but he is beaten up and bullied and makes suicide attempts. According to the advocate, in 2020, Azmatgiriev was provoked to use force against the colony deputy head, after which his prison term was increased, and he was returned to the same colony. Then the convict was accused of disorganizing the work of the colony. According to the advocate, there are no proofs of Azmatgiriev's guilt, but the prosecutor demanded three years in prison for him.

Chechen authorities have taken Khalid Azmatgiriev's case under their control, one of Azmatgiriev's advocates has confirmed. "Information about the [cruel] treatment of the prisoner has reached the leadership of Chechnya. The Ombudsman's office is already dealing with this problem. We hope that Azmatgiriev's rights will no longer be violated," he has stated, adding that there is hope that Azmatgiriev's case will be reconsidered.

Let us remind you that on September 20, Khalid Azmatgiriev cut himself in the courtroom as a sign of protest against the biased, in his opinion, the judge's attitude to him. Three days after the incident, the court continued considering his case and held a debate without the presence of the hired advocate, the defence asserts. The court then was considering Azmatgiriev's attack on the colony warden. "There are no objective proofs of Azmatgiriev's guilt in the case," the advocate, Anas Elmurzaev, has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2022 at 12:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Roman Kuzhev

Source: СK correspondent