Defence of Dagestani resident achieves reduction in his penalty for helping militants

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan has reduced the prison term of Shamil Daitbekov, convicted on charges of helping militants. Daitbekov will be released on December 28 this year; his defence intends to seek his rehabilitation.

Investigators had claimed that in 2018 he handed over foodstuffs to militants; the prosecutor demanded 10 years in prison for him.

In 2020, a court sentenced Daitbekov to eight years in prison, but in February 2021, the Dagestani SC overturned the sentence and sent the case back for retrial. In 2022, the court again found the man guilty, but appointed him a shorter prison term – five years and eight months in prison. Daitbekov's defence managed to achieve reclassifying the charge, the "Kavkaz.Realii" project reports.

Daitbekov was charged with helping Dagir Gadjiev and Musa Bilalov, the militants of the "Kizilyurt grouping," who were killed in October 2018 in Endirey. Daitbekov was detained ten days before the special operation, in which Bilalov and Gadjiev were killed; his defence claimed that he has signed his confessions under torture, and that the case was falsified, while law enforcers gave contradictory testimonies at trial, the "Chernovik" outlet has written.

The Dagestani SC considered that Daitbekov was guilty not of participation in an illegal armed formation (IAF), but of aiding militants.

During the first trial of Shamil Daitbekov's case, his defence pointed out that Shamil suffered from a serious illness; he was registered with a psychiatrist due to his mental disorders; he has no even primary education, and did not speak Russian, which is why he could not give such detailed testimonies that are present in the case files.