Young mother from Ingushetia Leyla Gatagazheva left in custody despite mitigation of charges

Investigators have excluded one of the articles of accusation from the case against Leyla Gatagazheva, a native of Ingushetia. The young mother of two children is no longer charged with complicity in terrorism. However, Leyla Gatagazheva is still being kept in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) despite the arguments submitted by her advocates.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 29, 2023, the Malgobek City Court changed the pre-trial restriction measure for Leyla Gatagazheva from detention to house arrest for two months. On February 1, at a request of a public prosecutor, the court transferred the defendant back to the SIZO.

The investigators have dropped the charge against Leyla Gatagazheva of complicity in terrorist activities, and now the defendant is being accused only of participation in an illegal armed formation (IAF), the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights reported.

The investigators have no evidence to support the charges against Leyla Gatagazheva, advocate Ramina Labazanova insists. The defender notes that secret service officers tried to put pressure on her client to obtain a confession. However, Leyla Gatagazheva did not plead guilty.

The defence also pointed out that during the month spent under house arrest, Leyla Gatagazheva did not commit a single violation.

“It is not clear what the judge was guided by when he changed the pre-trial restriction measure,” the “Memorial” Centre for Defence of Human Rights notes on its website.

Advocate Ramina Labazanova has emphasized that Leyla Gatagazheva had already served her sentence in Iraq for participation in a terrorist organization, but in Russia, the young mother of two children is still being charged under the same article, which provides for 8 to 15 years of imprisonment.