Friends of the Dagestani journalist Gadjiev declare that his guilt was not proven

The demand to release Abdulmumin Gadjiev is supported by passers-by, the solo picketers in his support have stated. His friends treat the prison term demanded by the state prosecutor for Gadjiev as unfair.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that colleagues of Abdulmumin Gadjiev, the arrested editor of the "Chernovik" (Draft) outlet, treat his criminal case as political persecution and regularly hold solo pickets in his support in Makhachkala. On July 24, Magomed Magomedov and Idris Yusupov held such pickets.

In the opinion of Idris Yusupov, a journalist with the "Novoye Delo" (New Cause) outlet, the demands for the freedom for political prisoners or for free journalism are less clear to people than the demands for the defence of a certain person.

He claims that the demand for "Freedom of Journalism" is relevant in terms of both state-owned and independent media. "Journalism can't work normally in such conditions, when the freedom of speech is restricted," Mr Yusupov has explained.

Friends of Abdulmumin Gadjiev spoke about the support of the journalist's family. Ramazan, a resident of Makhachkala, said that he had known Gadjiev since school. According to Ramazan, the prosecution has failed to prove Gadjiev's guilt; and any person, having familiarized himself with the publicly available information about Gadjiev's criminal prosecution, will draw such conclusions.

Amid the inconsistency of prosecution's arguments and absence of proofs of evidence of Gadjiev's guilt, the 19 years in colony, demanded by the state prosecutor demonstrate an extreme degree of injustice, Ramazan believes.