Akhmad Batlukhsky's defense accused the Ministry of Internal Affairs of falsifying evidence.

In the order to appoint a psychological and psychiatric examination of religious figure Akhmad Batlukhsky, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs cited falsified data. Batlukhsky's defense filed a criminal complaint with the Investigative Committee.

As reported by Caucasian Knot, on November 8, Akhmad Batlukhsky (Magomedov) was detained at the Moscow airport on libel charges and sent to Makhachkala. On November 10, the court placed him in pretrial detention for 29 days. Batlukhsky had a conflict with the Dagestan Muftiate and had been living outside of Russia in recent years, according to journalist Zaur Gaziyev.

Akhmad Batlukhsky's defense team filed a complaint with the Dagestan Investigative Committee regarding the falsification of evidence in the criminal case against the preacher, reported Shamil Khadulaev, head of the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission (PMC).

A senior investigator for the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Makhachkala ordered a psychological and psychiatric examination of Magomedov. The defense deemed it illegal and unfounded, since the religious figure is accused of slander: the prosecution must prove the dissemination of information, its defamatory nature, and its deliberate falsity, but assessing these elements requires no specialized knowledge of psychiatry or psychology, Khadulaev wrote on his Telegram channel on November 26.

The order appointing the expert examination states that the accused has been registered with a drug addiction specialist since 2018, but this information, according to Batlukhsky's defense, is untrue. Lawyer Ilyas Saidov sent a request to the Republican Drug Addiction Dispensary, and this institution was unable to confirm Magomedov's registration with a drug addiction specialist.

“A criminal complaint was filed with the Investigative Committee’s Investigative Department regarding the commission of a crime under Article 303 of the Russian Criminal Code (falsification of evidence), and a pre-investigation check is currently underway,” Khadulaev’s post reads.

“They presented a fake certificate, even though the man is completely healthy and sane. I wish for Batlukhsky’s release,” Telegram user Abbas Haidarov wrote under Khadulaev’s post. Several users commented with the hashtag #freedomforAkhmadBatlukhsky.

“When the investigation has nothing to show for the case, it starts inventing mental problems in the accused. It's a classic: since there's no evidence, let's pretend there's something wrong with the person. And then it turns out that the whole 'drug registry' thing is just a fairy tale. In the end, it looks like it's not Magomedov who needs to be investigated, but the imagination of the person who wrote all this,” user Ren Kael noted.

“Caucasian Knot” also reported that in May 2024, the house of Akhmad Magomedov, who had already left Russia by that time, burned down in the Dagestani village of Batlukh. Three people were arrested for arson, and in January 2025, the court found them guilty. The court sentenced Akhmed Omarov to 1.5 years in a penal colony, Abdul Abdulaev to a year and three months of suspended imprisonment, and Sultan Magomedov to 1.5 years. They also must reimburse Batlukhsky for the cost of the house.