Advocate intends to seek acquittal of Said Osmanov

The release of athlete Said Osmanov, who was sentenced in Elista on the charge of desecrating a statue of Buddha and inciting ethnic hatred, will allow him to focus on appealing against the verdict of guilty. This was stated by his advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night of April 2, in Elista, Said Osmanov was detained on suspicion of desecrating a statue of Buddha. On July 28, the court sentenced him to two years of conditional imprisonment with a probation period of one year. After Said Osmanov had been released in the courtroom, his advocates voiced their fears of provocations during the return of the athlete in Dagestan.

At night, Said Osmanov has safely returned to Dagestan, reports his advocate Murad Velikhanov. He has also noted his satisfaction with the release of Said Osmanov and dissatisfaction with the verdict.

The advocate has emphasized that the accusation that Said Osmanov had allegedly relieved himself inside the temple "was based almost exclusively on the testimony given by witness Minaeva." According to the advocate, Minaeva did not confirm that at trial and explained that she only saw Said Osmanov buttoning his pants. However, the court nevertheless took the investigators' version that Said Osmanov relieved himself.

According to Murad Velikhanov, the public resonance in Dagestan has become a decisive factor for the conditional sentence of Said Osmanov.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.