Investigator denies pressure on Karaulova

Varvara Karaulova was questioned in the presence of her advocates; nobody put any pressure on her, said Sergey Aguzarov, the head of the team of investigators, thus denying the defendant's words that she had given her confessions under investigator's persuasion.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 5, the Moscow District Military Court began considering the case of Varvara Karaulova (Alexandra Ivanova), accused of attempting to participate in a terrorist organization in Syria. The defendant refuses to plead guilty. On November 17, at the court session, Karaulova began testifying to the court. On November 22, after the announcement of the first interrogation protocol of Varvara Karaulova of October 27, 2015, she stated that the investigator misunderstood her; and she gave her testimonies in the absence of her advocate. Karaulova also stated that the investigator tried to persuade her to give untrue testimonies.

Today, while presenting additional proofs of Karaulova's guilt, the state prosecutor Mikhail Reznichenko demanded to question Sergey Aguzarov, the head of the investigative team.

"During the first interrogation, immediately after detention, Karaulova gave the information contained in the protocol. The interrogation was conducted in the presence of her advocate Noskov; there was no pressure on her; there were no persuasions and exhortations – I just explained her rights under the Russia's Code of Criminal Procedure. She read the protocols before signing," Sergey Aguzarov explained to the court.

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