Former head of the Ministry of Sports of Dagestan Magomedov refused to admit guilt in court.

Former Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of Dagestan Magomed Magomedov, accused of murder and creating an armed group, pleaded not guilty at the beginning of the trial.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Magomedov's case has been submitted to the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. In addition to double murder and attempted murder (Part 2 of Article 105 and Part 3 of Article 30, Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code), the Investigative Committee of Russia has charged Magomed Magomedov with creating a gang (Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code), illegal arms trafficking (Part 4 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code), and embezzlement using his official position (Part 4 of Article 160 of the Criminal Code). The investigation dropped charges of financing terrorism.

The former head of Kizilyurt, former Minister of Sports of Dagestan Magomed Magomedov, and seven other defendants pleaded not guilty during a hearing in the Southern District Military Court, RIA Novosti quotes a court spokesperson.

Former Minister of Sports of Dagestan Magomed Magomedov (listed as a terrorist and extremist) pleaded not guilty in a case of embezzlement, banditry, murder, and weapons possession in the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, the court's press service reported.

"The defendants did not plead guilty during the hearing," Interfax quotes a court spokesperson. specifying that the defendants in question were Magomedov and seven other defendants. In September, closed-door hearings on the merits of the case began, RIA Novosti clarified.

Initially, the case against Magomedov and his seven alleged accomplices was supposed to be heard in Dagestan, and It was planned to be tried in the republic's Supreme Court. However, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated a change in the case's jurisdiction, believing that a trial outside of Dagestan would be safer for its participants. Therefore, the case was transferred to the Southern District Court of the Supreme Court, TASS reports.

According to investigators, Magomedov created a gang in late 2005. By the summer of 2006, he had recruited police officers, private security guards, and cash collectors who were guarding him, whom he armed. The group included Abdulsamadov, Shikhabudinov, Chachanov, Zagidov, and several others. They all knew what they were doing and agreed to participate for money. Magomedov paid them monthly for their willingness to commit attacks and even murders. Magomedov allegedly specifically sought out people from law enforcement agencies—their positions helped conceal the crimes.

In December 2023, Gamzat, a deputy of the Kizilyurt City Council, Shikhabudinov and four other people were arrested in connection with the 2006 murder of the Sirazhudinov father and son. According to investigators, the group that committed the murder was led by the future mayor of Kizilyurt, Magomed Magomedov.

According to investigators, on Magomedov's orders, his security guards shot and killed Mirza Sirazhudinov, the deputy head of the Federal Treasury Department for the Kizilyurt District, and his young son on August 3, 2006, near a café on the Kavkaz highway, and also wounded the owner of the establishment. The Investigative Committee believes Magomed Magomedov's motive was revenge against Sirazhudinov for a failed assassination attempt on him in 2005. Then, by mistake, the perpetrator killed his nephew, Magomed Sheikhov.

In his testimony, Magomedov stated that he had no motive for the murder of Mirza Sirazhudinov. However, according to Magomedov, Sirazhudinov financed the then head of Dagestan's Kizilyurt district, Abdurakhman Gadzhiev, with whom Magomedov had a conflict while serving as head of the district municipal tax inspectorate. Magomedov accused the official of collaborating with criminals and extorting money from businessmen, after which the assassination attempt was organized, resulting in the murder of Magomedov's nephew. In November 2006, Abdurakhman Gadzhiev, who ordered the crime, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and Magomed Mitoyev, who organized it, was sentenced to nine years.