The defense and family reported that Yemkuzhev's case is being delayed

The Rostov-on-Don Military Court has extended the pretrial detention of Kazbek Emkuzhev and five other Nalchik residents accused of forming a terrorist organization by three months. Hearings in the case have been intermittent and constantly postponed. 

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," the Southern District Military Court is hearing the case of 19-year-old student Kazbek Yemkuzhev from Nalchik and five other young men  accused of participating in a terrorist organization. The court has admitted a video of Yemkuzhev's abduction to the case file, but his family and defense are unable to initiate criminal proceedings, according to the defendant's father, Aslan Yemkuzhev. Lawyers have called the refusal to investigate Kazbek Yemkuzhev's abduction illegal . 

At the next hearing in the case of Kazbek Emkuzhev on December 16, the court considered only the issue of extending the defendant's pretrial detention, without making a decision on the defense's previously filed motions to return the case to the prosecutor and exclude certain evidence. 

"They didn't have time to review anything: due to an accident on the M-4 highway, one of the lawyers was late, and the other lawyer was forced to attend another hearing two hours later. Ultimately, the court only considered the pretrial detention measure, extending the arrest until March 2026," Ramzan Uzuyev told Kazbek Emkuzhev's "Caucasian Knot." 

The defendants made no motions or complaints during the hearing. Uzuyev added that defendant Aslan Makoyev, who told the court in July that his phone messages had been falsified, has a new defense attorney; he has a new court-appointed lawyer.

"As far as I know, they all admit their guilt. At least, none of them were questioned, so at this stage, as during the investigation, they all admitted their guilt," Uzuyev noted.

The next hearing is scheduled for January 20. The lawyer was unable to explain why the hearings were scheduled with such a long gap. 

Kazbek Yemkuzhev's father also noted the protracted nature of the trial. "Today's hearing was postponed due to the absence of a lawyer. It's unclear why last time, and it's also unclear why it's taking so long," Aslan Yemkuzhev told the "Caucasian Knot." 

Despite numerous requests, Yemkuzhev was unable to see his son. "We asked for a meeting earlier, but they didn't grant it. We weren't at the hearings, so we haven't seen each other in a while," he lamented.