Court slightly changes verdict to book publisher Ezhaev
The appellate court has amended the sentence of Chechen book publisher, Aslambek Ezhaev, pointing out significant violations, but upheld the sentence of 17 years of freedom deprivation on charges of financing terrorism.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 13, the Military Court of Appeal in Vlasikha (a closed settlement in the Moscow Region) began considering the appeal against Ezhaev's sentence. His defence pointed out numerous violations during the consideration of the case by the first-instance court.
On February 3, 2023, a military court in Moscow found Ezhaev guilty of financing the "Islamic State" (IS), a terrorist organization banned in Russia. The 60-year-old Ezhaev, who refused to plead guilty, stated that the verdict would be lifelong one for him.
Let us remind you that Aslambek Ezhaev is the founder of the "Umma" Publishing House. In April 2021, searches were conducted in his apartment in Moscow, after which the publisher was detained.
The publisher's criminal prosecution has to do with his professional activities, members of the Russian Islamic community have stated. In their turn, religious scholars have noted that Ezhaev's involvement in promoting radical Islam is questionable.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 24, 2023 at 09:32 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot