Parties to the Dzhabiev murder case insist that their complaints be upheld

The Supreme Court of South Ossetia has reviewed the cassation appeals filed by the parties in the Inal Dzhabiev murder case. The decision will be announced on December 22. The parties insist that their appeals be upheld.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," on October 2, the Tskhinvali City Court  found  all defendants in the case of Inal Dzhabiev's death guilty. Five of them were sentenced to terms ranging from three to five years in prison: three (Dzhumber Bibilov, Alan Bagayev, and Andrei Dzhioyev) were arrested in the courtroom, and two others were given credit for time served in custody. The court imposed fines on two former security officials, which were released due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. After the verdict was announced, approximately 10 relatives of the convicted men gathered in the central square in Tskhinvali. The South Ossetian Prosecutor's Office promised to appeal the case. On October 16, it was announced that Dzhabiev's family lawyer had appealed the verdict . On October 27, the verdict was also appealed by the convicted man and the republic's Prosecutor General's Office.

South Ossetia awaits the Supreme Court's decision on the cassation appeals filed by both the prosecution and defense in the Inal Dzhabiev murder case.

On December 8, the Supreme Court held oral arguments following the consideration of the cassation appeals of both the injured party and the defense. During the oral arguments, the state prosecution upheld its cassation appeal, while the injured party, represented by Inal Dzhabiev's widow, Oksana Sotieva, and her lawyer, Fatima Gatagonova, abstained from speaking.

On December 16, Oksana Sotieva explained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent why both she and her lawyer, Fatima Gatagonova, abstained from participating in the oral arguments. "We support the prosecutor's position," she noted.

"The convicts still believe they are innocent and disagree with the Tskhinvali City Court's verdict. Their lawyers have asked for their clients to be fully acquitted and for their right to rehabilitation to be recognized," Sotieva said.

The parties to this case are usually emotional during court hearings. This time, too, there were incidents.

"A woman was sitting near Fatima Gatagonova's lawyer. It later turned out to be Bibilov's mother. Gatagonova was saying something, and the woman told her, 'Shut your mouth!' Gatagonova then told her to shut her mouth. She responded by calling Gatagonova names and so on. Then Dzhumber Bibilov started shaking his fist at Fatima Gatagonova from his cage and said, 'I'll show you!'" Sotieva recounted, adding, "Even behind bars, he can't control himself in court. And what kind of innocence are they talking about?"

Fatima Gatagonova herself did not comment on the incident. She told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that she hopes the court will consider the evidence in the case file. "We believe their (the convicts') guilt has been fully proven. In this regard, our opinion does not coincide with the opinion of the Tskhinvali City Court," Gatagonova said.

Andrey Dzhioyev's lawyer, Albert Msoyev, stated during his testimony that he agreed that Inal Dzhabiev was beaten. He asked the court to identify those actually involved in his death. Inal Dzhabiev's case was previously separated into a separate proceeding and sent to the prosecutor's office to identify those involved.

A lawyer pointed out the imperfections of South Ossetian legislation.

While awaiting the court's decision, many are wondering what the parties will do if they are again dissatisfied with the outcome. Under current South Ossetian law, appeals through supervisory review remain possible, lawyer Madina Kozaeva explained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent . She noted the differences between Russian and South Ossetian legislation. South Ossetia does not provide for an appeals process.

"In Russian legislation, there's one additional level. There's the court of first instance, then the appeals court, and then the cassation court. And what performs the cassation court's functions is called supervision. So, we have both cassation and supervision," she says.

In South Ossetia, they primarily use Russian norms and legislation, with minor amendments. Sometimes, the Russian amendments aren't adopted in full, explains Kozaeva. "The first problem arose in 2004, when the Investigative Committee in Russia separated into a separate agency, while our prosecutor's office structure remained the same. After some time, we adopted a resolution and began using the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation as of... and fixed some date. Consequently, a completely stupid situation has arisen. We are now using an outdated Criminal Procedure Code. This version of the Criminal Procedure Code is no longer in effect in Russia. And in that version, there is no appeal," she said.

According to Kozaeva, this situation clearly reduces opportunities for the exercise of citizens' rights.

Oksana Sotieva spoke out against sending the case back for a new investigation.

As Oksana Sotieva explained, if the Supreme Court's decision on Monday increases the sentence for the convicted, Inal Dzhabiev's case will no longer be considered as a separate case by the Prosecutor General's Office. If the city court's decision is upheld, the case will be sent for a new investigation.

"What other facts will they be able to uncover after more than five years? Who else will they be able to identify? I hope the Supreme Court will disagree with the city court's decision to reclassify the charges and uphold Article 286—abuse of power—as charged," she said.

Defense attorney Karina Kochieva also disagrees with the reclassification of the charges. She believes the circumstances determined by the trial court warranted an acquittal.

"At the same time, as we see, a guilty verdict was handed down. There's also a reclassification of the charge to a completely different one – negligence. Under this charge, the defense was deprived of the opportunity to defend itself. The pretrial investigation agency didn't charge us with this charge. Neither the defendants nor the lawyers worked under Article 293; the right to defense was violated there," Kochieva told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The decision on the cassation appeals will be announced on December 22.

The parties to the proceedings insist on the satisfaction of their complaints.

Earlier, at a hearing on December 1, Prosecutor Liana Elbakieva stated that the prosecution disagreed with the trial court's classification of the defendants' actions. "The contested verdict clearly shows that, contrary to this article, the court reached contradictory conclusions. For example, in the descriptive part, the court states and describes that violence was used against the victims. However, <...> the court concludes that there are no qualifying elements and excludes Part 3 of Article 286 (abuse of power)," the state news agency Res quotes her as saying.

The prosecutor called the complaints of Kozonov, Gogichaev, and Khugaev contradictory and unfounded enough to warrant acquittal.

Lawyer Karina Kochieva noted that the trial court correctly established the circumstances but reached incorrect conclusions by handing down a guilty verdict even in the absence of circumstantial evidence. According to her, the court cited the expert examination of the victim, Kulumbegov, even though it was deemed inadmissible and excluded from the case. She also emphasized that other expert examinations by the same specialist should be deemed inadmissible, as her certification only allows her to work on cadavers, not living people.

Kozonov and Bibilov's lawyers maintain their clients' innocence, declaring a complete lack of evidence against them. Ikramzhan Ramatov also claimed the charges were inappropriate, as the decision to charge Bibilov was drafted in a general manner, making it impossible to establish a basis for proof and render a lawful, justified verdict.

News about the investigation and the political crisis in South Ossetia surrounding the death of Inal Dzhabiev has been compiled by the "Caucasian Knot" on the topic page " Dzhabiev's Murder: Protests and Crisis ."