Verdict to KBR resident Andzor Kudaev upheld despite torture claim

The cassation instance has upheld the sentence of Andzor Kudaev, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), who was sentenced to six years in penal colony on charges of aiding terrorism and possessing weapons. The instance has found the defence's arguments that Kudaev had confessed under torture to be untenable.

According to Kudaev's testimony, in September 2015, an unknown man called him and asked to come to some address in Nalchik to measure his balcony for reconstruction. When Kudaev arrived, he was met in the yard by a guy who introduced himself as Yuri Bitsuev. According to the prosecution, Bitsuev gave Kudaev a thousand roubles and asked him to buy him groceries, and Kudaev fulfilled the request. Then, Bitsuev left a pistol with cartridges with Kudaev for temporary storage. Later, Kudaev refused from this testimony, stating that he gave it under torture. He said that the weapon had been panted on him, and he did not know Bitsuev.

Let us remind you that on November 22, 2015, 14 people were killed during two special operations in Nalchik. Law enforcers stated that all the casualties were members of a local cell of the "Islamic State" (IS)*. Yuri Bitsuev was among those killed, whom law enforcers called the leader of the KBR's armed underground.

*On December 29, 2014, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the organization "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL or IS) as a terrorist international organization and banned its activities in Russia.