In Dagestan, one of suspects of Farid Babaev's murder found guilty

Today, at the Supreme Court of Dagestan, jurymen have found Rasil Mamedrizaev guilty of murdering Farid Babaev, leader of the Dagestan branch of the "Yabloko" Party, and completely acquitted the other defendant - Seferali Semimerzoev, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Having found Rasil Mamedrizaev guilty of murdering Farid Babaev, leader of the Dagestan branch of the "Yabloko" Party, the jurymen found unproved that he had committed a crime, stipulated by Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federations ("Illegal purchase, bearing and transportation of arms"), and also the fact that the crime had been accomplished for money in the sum of 15,000 dollars.

The announcement of the verdict caused indignation of the state prosecutor, who drew attention to the fact that acquittal from bearing and transportation of arms is contradictory to the affirmative statement that Mamedrizaev committed Babaev's murder, as the latter was shot dead from fire-arms, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Mamedrizaev's advocate has demanded, in his turn, that the announced verdict either to be attached to the case files, or the board of jurymen to be dismissed also the case reconsidered. Ibram Garunov, Judge of the Supreme Court of Dagestan, has attached the jurymen's verdict to the case files, and then dismissed the board of jurymen. Then, the Judge removed journalists and everybody out of the courtroom, except for the state prosecutor, advocates of the parties, and Farid Babaev's and defendants' close relatives.

The next session, where the verdict may be announced will take place on Wednesday, January 21.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court session was attended by Sergey Mitrokhin, leader of the "Yabloko" Party, and human rights activist Valery Borschov, member of the Party's Bureau, who arrived in Makhachkala for this purpose.

In Mr Mitrokhin's opinion, the judicial investigation is held inefficiently, as he told in his interview to the "Echo Moskvy" Radio Station. The "Yabloko" leader is convinced that it was a political murder. As he said, the Party will strive for punishing the customers of the murder, whatever high positions they take.