Court in Makhachkala leaves deputy imam in custody for another month

The advocate of Kurban Askandarov, a deputy imam of a mosque in Makhachkala, arrested on suspicion of illegal storage of firearms, intends to appeal against the ruling to place Askandarov behind bars.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the deputy imam of the mosque located in Kotrov Street was detained on May 27; and on May 29 the Sovietskiy District Court of Makhachkala granted the investigators' petition to arrest Askandarov for 72 hours.

Today, as reported by Ruslan Chupanov, an Askandarov's defender, the court has also followed the investigators' motion and arrested his client for one month. According to Chupanov, the defence has informed the court that Askandarov had never been tried before; he is married and has a young child as his dependent.

So far, Askandarov has seen no charges; it will be done in the near future, said a source from the Sovietskiy ROVD (District Interior Division) of Makhachkala.

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