Two Stavropol residents sentenced to imprisonment as participants in Basaev’s raid on Dagestan

In Dagestan, a court sentenced Stavropol residents Arifulla Avezov and Akhmet Terekbaev to 14 years of imprisonment, recognizing them as participants in an armed attack of the militant groupings led by Basaev and Khattab on the republic in 1999.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that in February 2021, it became known that Arifulla Avezov and Akhmet Terekbaev were accused of attempted murder of a military man, banditry, and armed rebellion. The above-mentioned articles provide for long terms of imprisonment, including exceptional measure of punishment.

According to the Supreme Court (SC) of Dagestan, Arifulla Avezov and Akhmet Terekbaev guarded a militant camp and participated in armed attacks on military personnel, the “Kommersant” reports.

By the time the verdict was pronounced, the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution under two articles charged against them – banditry and armed rebellion – had expired, so Arifulla Avezov and Akhmet Terekbaev were sentenced under only one article on attempt on the lives of military personnel.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the detentions of the alleged participants of the attack of the militant groupings led by Shamil Basaev and Khattab on Dagestan in 1999 continue after more than 20 years. So, on December 19, investigators reported about the detention of Ibragim Magomedov, a native of Dagestan, on the similar charge.

Earlier, advocate Narine Airapetyan has stated that the cases on participation in the militant groupings led by Basaev and Khattab are of the same type and are often falsified. According to the advocate’s statement, prisoners in Russia are forced under threat of torture to testify in such cases against people they have never known.