Persons accused of preparing terror act at Kirkorov's concert claim being tortured

Confessions to plotting an explosion in Makhachkala were obtained under torture, all the four defendants have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the trial began at the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don in November 2019. The defendants, four natives of Dagestan, were detained back in October 2017. At the session on January 30, 2020, all the defendants refused to plead guilty.

Investigators believe that Khidirnabi Kazuev, Samir Ibragimov, Gabibula Khalduzov and their accomplice had planned explosions at the concert of Philip Kirkorov in Makhachkala on July 6, 2017, but because of securities, they could not get into the concert hall during the concert.

All the four defendants have refused to plead guilty and abandoned their previous testimonies, because they had been given under torture, Israfil Gadadov, the advocate of Kazuev and Khalduzov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "During the trial, the defendants stated that they had been tortured; and during the interrogation we examined the testimonies of two witnesses-law enforcers, where the investigator asked what they could say about the traces of physical violence on defendants' bodies. The agents suggested that the defendants could have allegedly inflicted them themselves aiming to evade responsibility. In two defendants these traces were confirmed; the examination conclusions are in the case file," said the advocate.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 7, 2020 at 09:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.