A new criminal case against Magomed Magomedov has been filed in court.
The Leninsky District Court of Makhachkala has begun hearing a new criminal case against former director of the RIA Dagestan, Magomed Magomedov.
As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, at the end of December, Magomed Magomedov, former general director of the republican information agency Dagestan, who was taken into custody on suspicion of embezzling budget funds, was transferred to house arrest.
Magomed Magomedov, editor-in-chief of the Molodezh Dagestan newspaper, was detained on November 21 in connection with a case of large-scale fraud. The case is related to Magomedov's work at RIA Dagestan: according to investigators, public funds were embezzled there over several years. The money was transferred as payment for various services under contracts or as salaries to people who did not actually work for the agency. On November 23, the court remanded Magomedov in custody for two months. Magomed Magomedov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Youth of Dagestan," is an experienced journalist and a systemic figure. His criminal prosecution is not related to his professional activities, but is linked to pre-election political processes in the republic, analysts stated, assessing the political context of Magomed Magomedov's case.
Magomedov was initially accused of fraud, but these charges were not confirmed, and the case was closed. He is currently under house arrest. New charges have been brought against him. Investigators allege he fictitiously employed employees and embezzled public funds, but they do not yet have sufficient evidence. The investigation is ongoing, the state broadcaster Dagestan reported today on its Telegram channel.
"It's a little surprising that the investigation is essentially trying to label the standard practice of all journalists in Dagestan and Russia as violations. The case notes that the individual works with his own correspondents and special correspondents somewhere in the region. Some don't sign materials, others don't provide materials, and so on. I'm confident the court will sort this out. Arguments, legal references, and evidence will be presented during the trial," said public figure Zubairu Zubairuev.
"Magomed Aliyevich objected that the investigation had already decided to overturn the fraud charge in the part the prosecutor mentioned. What was the point of then reading the same charges to the prosecutor today?" Shamil, head of the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission, said in the television station's report. Khadulaev.
"I very much hope that my other colleagues from the federal media will pay attention to this case, as it is quite high-profile. I want more transparency, more justice, and I hope that this will soon end with a fairly humane court decision," said Regina Gadzhibalayeva, a correspondent for the newspaper "Argumenty i Fakty."
The next court hearing is scheduled for July, according to the broadcaster's report.
Magomed Magomedov graduated from the Institute of Foreign Languages at Dagestan State Pedagogical University. He worked as the director of the non-profit partnership "Educational Center," head of the Dagestan State Pedagogical University press service, was the general director of RIA "Dagestan" (from 2013 to 2023), and director of the External Communications Center at Glavkosmos. On April 16, 2025, he became the head of the newspaper "Youth of Dagestan," according to the publication's Telegram channel.