In Imam Baichorov's case, court summons officer of MIA's Chief Department for NCFD for questioning

In Stavropol, the court has partially granted the defence motion for questioning power agents as witnesses in the case against Kislovodsk Imam Ali-Kurman Baichorov. Besides, the court has summoned for questioning Police Colonel Nikolai Zavyalikov, the Deputy Chief of the Chief Department for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).

When addressing the panel of judges with a motion to question Yuri Kopylov, the Chief of Communications, Information Technology and Information Security Department of the MIA's Chief Department for NCFD, advocate Alaudi Musaev has explained that "earlier, the first instance court had granted the defence motion for his questioning; however, no questioning had been conducted and the court had announced the decision to complete the phase of the trial without it."

The defence has managed to identify the mobile phone number of a person allegedly involved in the kidnapping of Ali-Kurman Baichorov and planting of drugs to him; that resulted in the conviction of the religious figure. In that connection, according to the advocate, the address details were detected for the above mobile phone number.

Let us remind you that supporters of Ali-Kurman Baichorov call the accusation a provocation and associate it with the Imam's implacable attitude towards mosques in Kislovodsk, where the authorities have banned their construction. The Imam did not admit his guilt and claimed he fell victim to the people, including a FSB agent, who kidnapped him and planted drugs to him. The investigators have refused to institute criminal proceedings against the power agent, and the Imam's defence appealed against the decision. However, the court has dismissed the appeal.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.