Witness testifies to peaceful life of Kurbanov brothers in Egypt

Ismail and Mukhtar Kurbanov brothers from Dagestan, accused of involvement in an illegal armed formation (IAF) and possession of explosives, led a peaceful lifestyle in Egypt and did not leave for Syria to participate in hostilities, their acquaintance testifies at trial.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that investigators accuse Mukhtar and Ismail Kurbanov brothers of joining an IAF and storing explosives. Besides, according to the investigators, Mukhtar, the youngest brother, fought on the side of the "Islamic State" (IS, a terrorist organization, banned in Russia by the court, – note of the "Caucasian Knot") in Syria. On October 22, during an interrogation in court, the Kurbanov brothers claimed that they had been tortured after their detention, rejected all the charges brought against them, and said that they had incriminated themselves because of threats.

At a regular hearing held in a case of Ismail and Mukhtar Kurbanov, the Southern Military Court questioned Magomed Gaziev, a native of Dagestan.

Magomed Gaziev said that in 2010, he went to Egypt to treat his sick son.

According to Magomed Gaziev, in 2012, at a stadium in the "Flower" district of Cairo, he got acquainted with Ismail, and a little later, with Mukhtar Kurbanov, who studied at one of the training centres. Magomed Gaziev met the Kurbanov brother on the street at least once a week, and he played football on Fridays with them, the man said.

Magomed Gaziev did not believe the prosecutor's version of the Kurbanov brothers' involvement in the ranks of Syrian militants. "As far as I know, he (Ismail Kurbanov) did not leave for anywhere. In 2014, Ismail went home to get married. Then he came back. He married my fellow villager from the village of Gigatli. They came to visit us, and we came to them. Ismail rented an apartment 50-100 meters from me ... Usually, if someone left for Syria, the students knew about that," the witness said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 3, 2019 at 03:21 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.