Gasanguseinov's picket was an attempt to speed up the long-running investigation into the murder of his sons.

The investigation into the murder of the Gasanguseinov brothers by security forces has yielded no results for many years, stated Murtazali Gasanguseinov, the father of the murdered brothers. His picket attracted the attention of Makhachkala police.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," today Murtazali Gasanguseinov went to the Investigative Committee building in Makhachkala for a solo picket with a sign reading "Alexander Ivanovich Bastrykin, who killed my children?" On the eve of the picket, Gasanguseinov explained to the "Caucasian Knot" that his new lawyer was not being allowed to review the case materials, and he himself had even stopped receiving informational letters informing him that the investigation was ongoing.

Gasanguseynov's solo picket attracted the attention of the police, but no pressure was exerted on the picketer, a representative of the "Team Against Torture" (included in the register of foreign agents) who was observing the action told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"A police officer approached him and asked him to write an explanatory note. Murtazali wrote a short explanatory note. Then the head of the Sovietsky District Department of Internal Affairs called him in for a talk, and he went with a lawyer he knew," he said.

Murtazali Gasanguseynov himself told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the day before the picket that a new lawyer had only recently joined the case. "I haven't had a lawyer for three years; everyone was intimidated or forced to leave. A new lawyer recently joined, but now they're not allowing him to review the case materials. Furthermore, they've stopped updating me on the progress of the investigation—what's been done and what hasn't. Previously, they'd at least send letters every three months about the extension of the investigation, but now they don't even send that," he said.

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Gasanguseinov noted that he demands that the Investigative Committee find and punish His sons' killers. "My first lawyer [...] said to me, 'Where are you going against this tank?' I replied, 'My children can't be brought back, but I don't want other children killed,'" he said.

The man emphasized that the initial theory that his children were militants was not confirmed, and the case is now being investigated under Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Murder"). "They tried to make them out to be terrorists for a year and a half, but it didn't work," Gasanguseinov stated.

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Alim Bishenov, managing partner of the Bishenov & Partners law firm, commented on Gasanguseinov's situation to the "Caucasian Knot" on the eve of the picket.

"There are countless people like Murtazali Gasanguseinov in the North Caucasus, whose relatives were killed or went missing during military operations and counter-terrorism activities. In this particular situation, it is difficult for me to judge the legality, validity, and timeliness of the investigative actions within the criminal investigation, as I am not a defense attorney in the case. However, one thing is clear: Mr. Gasanguseinov is not trying to publicize this case without reason; the situation is apparently grave," he noted.

As a reminder, Gasanguseinov's series of pickets in 2019 resulted only in disciplinary action against the police chief, who reported the brothers' murders as two militants. The police officer continued working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, having been demoted to district police officer. Murtazali Gasanguseinov was denied four times his request to open a case against this officer.