Attacker on "Caucasian Knot" correspondent sentenced to conditional imprisonment

Today, Madina Omarova, Judge at the Soviet District Court of Makhachkala, has recognized Karim Kasumov guilty of assaulting a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent and sentenced him to 1.5 years of conditional imprisonment on probation for two years. The Prosecutor's Office requested the court to sentence Karim Kasumov to 2 years of imprisonment, while the law provides the maximum penalty for violence used against a journalist in the form of 6 years of imprisonment.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports from the courtroom that Judge Madina Omarova gave Karim Kasumov the right to deliver his final speech. The defendant did not say anything, and the Judge left for the consultation room, then returned and voiced the verdict.

According to investigators, on June 12, 2017, Karim Kasumov forced the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent to stop filming a rally of Navalny's supporters in Makhachkala and attacked her. The defendant used force against the journalist and broke her video camera. Karim Kasumov pleaded not guilty. According to him, he was not aware that Patimat Makhmudova stayed at the rally as a journalist. His argument was refuted by witness Andrei Melamedov and Patimat Makhmudova herself.

Reporting a conflict of interest. The author of the material is a witness in the Karim Kasumov's case.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 19, 2018 at 12:13 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.