Court in Chechnya sentences Ruslan Kutaev to four years in prison

The lawyer Pyotr Zaikin has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that today the Urus-Martan City Court sentenced Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, to four years of imprisonment in a general regime colony. The court also banned Kutaev for one more year to attend public events and be engaged in any public activities.

Ruslan Kutaev was detained in the village of Gekhi, Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, on February 20 this year. He was charged with illegal drug possession. According to rights defenders, he was tortured. Kutaev himself claims his innocence.

According to Pyotr Zaikin, the verdict to Kutaev is "an unprecedented and severe punishment."

Let us remind you that the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has recognized Kutaev to be a political prisoner. The Human Rights Watch has linked Kutaev's prosecution with the fact that on February 18, during the scientific conference "Deportation of Chechen people. What was it, and can it be forgotten?" he criticized the position of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, who had banned to hold commemoration events on February 23 dated to the start of deportation of Chechens and Ingushes in 1944.