Court recognizes violation of Dagestani journalist Magomed Magomedov’s rights by police

The Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan partially granted the claim filed by Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the Dagestani weekly newspaper “Chernovik” (Rough Draft), recognizing the law enforcers’ request to go to a police station and the detention of the journalist at the police department as illegal. At the same time, the court refused to regard the law enforcers’ actions as a detention and did not find any violations in the disruption of a solo picket held in support of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence* reported.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in August 2023, the Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala did not grant the claim filed by Magomed Magomedov against the Directorate for Makhachkala of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the chief of the police department. The journalist requested the court to declared illegal the actions of the police who detained him in January when he was holding a solo picket. A police spokesperson explained the detention of Magomed Magomedov as a concern for his safety because of possible unrest. In November 2023, the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan sent the claim for a new consideration.

The defendants insisted in court that “Magomed Magomedov was not detained by the police, was not taken to the police station, but he went there voluntarily and was not held there against his will.”

The court concluded that the MIA’s officers did not have any grounds provided for by law to take Magomed Magomedov to the police department.

The court also agreed that the transfer of the journalist to the police department was forced and that the law enforcers did not provide evidence of the legality of their actions, which means they violated the rights of Magomed Magomedov.

*As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the register of foreign agents was the spread of “inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces.”