Defence of Kislovodsk Imam Baichorov lodges complaint to ECtHR

In the course of considering his case, the rights of Kurman-Ali Baichorov, a Kislovodsk Imam, to defence, a fair trial and freedom of conscience had been violated, his advocates, who have sent a complaint today to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 12 Baichorov was sentenced to 3.5 years of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 roubles on charges of illegal drug dealing. The Imam refused to plead guilty and claimed that the drugs were planted on him.

The defence of Baichorov was deprived of the opportunity to achieve a fair trial at the national level, Alaudi Musaev, an advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, the weight of the complain documents makes 7.5 kilograms – they contain over 2700 pages, including all the documents confirming the defence's version.

The complaint was sent to the ECtHR today by fax and in parallel – by mail, Nadezhda Ermolaeva, another advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. It states that in respect of Baichorov the authorities had violated Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) that guarantees a fair trial.

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