Resident of Chechnya sentenced for involvement in Syrian conflict

The court has found Bulat Emiev, a resident of the Shali District of Chechnya, guilty of involvement the combat actions in Syria in the ranks of the "Islamic State" (IS) and sentenced him to 3.5 years of imprisonment in a penal colony.

According to investigators, in September 2014, Bulat Emiev, a resident of the village of Avtury, left for Syria, where he joined an armed formation, which was a part of the organization "Islamic State" (IS). Bulat Emiev stayed there until May 2015. Then, he moved to Turkey and returned home. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by an official from the law enforcement bodies of Chechnya.

In summer, Bulat Emiev was detained and charged under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (involvement in an illegal armed formation (IAF)). This was reported by an official from the Chechen Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

According to the Chechen MoJ's official, at trial, Bulat Emiev pleaded guilty. On November 18, the Shali District Court sentenced Bulat Emiev to 3.5 years of imprisonment in a common-security penal colony, followed by restriction of liberty for 1.5 years.

Relatives of the defendant have stated that they see no need to file an appeal against the relatively lenient sentence.

The "Caucasian Knot" has also reported that on May 28, Aslan Bashaev, a resident of Chechnya, was sentenced to five years of imprisonment for involvement in the combat actions in the territory of Syria.

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