Dagestani editors-in-chief explain their support to Gadjiev by distrust in law enforcers

The refusal of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Dagestan to sanction a rally in support of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, one of the editors of the "Chernovik" (Draft) weekly, will be appealed against, said the initiator of the action. The journalists' solidarity with Gadjiev is caused by the decreased confidence in the actions of law enforcement bodies, Dagestani editors-in chief believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that an application for sanctioning of the above rally in support of Abdulmumin Gadjiev was filed on June 17, and the next day the MoJ of Dagestan refused to sanction the rally in Lenin Square, by suggesting three other places.

Arsen Magomedov, a lawyer, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the initiators of the rally disagree with the MoJ's response and intend to appeal against it in court. "The lawsuit is ready; and tomorrow [on June 21] we'll hand it over to the court," said Magomedov.

Three independent Dagestani editions decided to publish their June 21 issues with the same front pages in support for Gadjiev "I/We Am/Are Abdulmumin Gadjiev".

This action will show the solidarity of the journalistic community, Zaur Gaziev, the editor-in-chief of the "Free Republic" newspaper, believes. "We are in solidarity with the 'Chernovik', since we have a fact that a journalist was arrested without any clearly formulated charges against him," he told the "Caucasian Knot".

The society has a reducing trust in the work of law enforcement bodies; and many people understand that they may become the next victim of arbitrariness, Gadjimurad Sagitov, the editor-in-chief of the "Novoye Delo" newspaper, has stated.

"People's moods are changing. New cases are appearing, when law enforcers invent them to improve their figures in reporting ... One example is that those guilty of murdering the Gasanguseinov brothers have not yet been punished," Mr Sagitov has added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 21, 2019 at 05:53 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.