Advocate of Dagestani residents detained during CTO allowed visiting his clients

Today, advocate Murad Velikhanov has visited two residents of the Suleiman-Stalsky District of Dagestan, detained during the counterterrorist operation (CTO), who are being kept at the IVS (detention facility) of the ROVD (District Interior Division).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 23, Murad Velikhanov, an advocate of Raviz Djafarov and Alim Balikhanov, residents of Dagestan, detained during the CTO, complained about non-admission to his clients. According to the advocate, at least five persons were detained during the CTO carried out in the two districts of Dagestan.

Today, advocate Murad Velikhanov has managed to visit Raviz Djafarov and Alim Balikhanov, who were detained on suspicion of possession of ammunition. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by the very advocate.

"I believe the visit has become possible thanks to the intervention of the Public Monitoring Commission (PMC) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Republic of Dagestan, to where I filed complaints. However, I was not allowed to talk to my clients privately, and that was a violation of the Criminal Procedure Code," the advocate has said.

According to Murad Velikhanov, he has noticed "no signs of torture on the faces of the detainees under investigation"; however, "they looked very frightened."

The advocate has noted that by the court's decision, Raviz Djafarov and Alim Balikhanov have been arrested for two months.

"It is also a violation. The court was to announce the pre-trial restriction measure for a period of one month. I will appeal against the court's decision," Murad Velikhanov has noted.

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