Prosecution requests 7.5 years in prison for Dagestani activist Ataev

The Prosecutor's Office (PO) has demanded to sentence Eduard Ataev, a Dagestani activist, to 7.5 years in prison on charges of possessing an explosive device and narcotic drugs.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Eduard Ataev, a former coordinator of Alexei Navalny's* office in Makhachkala, was arrested on charges of possessing an explosive device and narcotic drugs. Ataev claims that the grenade and drugs were planted on him, and connects his persecution with his civic and political position and countering corruption schemes.

The PO has demanded that Eduard Ataev be sentenced to 7.5 years of freedom deprivation, the "Kavkaz.Realii"** project has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that Ataev held solo pickets in Makhachkala calling, in particular, to stop corruption in the Khasavyurt District. On January 25, 2022, he was detained at a protest against the extraction of natural resources in the village of Endirei.

*Navalny's offices are recognized as extremist organizations and banned in Russia. Alexei Navalny is a founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (known as FBK), an NCO that is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent. The NCO is also recognized by a court as extremist and banned in the territory of Russia.

**Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.