16:34, 28 July 2016

Court finds Said Osmanov guilty

Elista. Photo http://flnka.ru/novosti/13516-sud-v-eliste-ostavil-pod-arestom-dagestanskogo-borca-osmanova.html

In Elista, the court has found the Dagestani athlete guilty of desecrating a statue of Buddha and inciting ethnic hatred and sentenced him to two years of conditional imprisonment.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 26, in his final speech, Said Osmanov denied that he "desecrated the statue of Buddha in any way."

According to advocate Murad Velikhanov, the defence intends to appeal against the verdict.

Let us remind you that the incident took place on April 1, when the Dagestani athletes, who arrived in Elista to take part in a freestyle wrestling tournament, visited a Buddhist temple and started a Periscope-broadcasting, in which they used bad language while speaking about the monuments of architecture, which were of great significance for Buddhists. Residents of Elista who watched the video arrived at the hotel where the athlete stayed. They forced him in the street, put him on his knees and forced to make publicly apologizes.

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

Author: Patimat Makhmudova

Source: CK correspondent