Dagestani authorities have left the family of an injured conscript without support.
The father of Magomedbek Khizbulaev, a conscript from Dagestan, is forced to borrow money to continue caring for his seriously injured son. The family has received no support from officials or members of parliament, and investigators insist on an accident, ignoring the soldier's claims of beatings.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," a 19-year-old conscript from Dagestan was admitted to the N.N. Burdenko National Medical Research Center of Neurosurgery in Moscow in January for treatment with a severe head injury. The Dagestan Ministry of Nationalities stated that it is investigating the circumstances of his injury and is in contact with the soldier's parents. The victim, Magomedbek Khizbulaev, himself said in the hospital that he was beaten, and his commanders' version of a fall from a tower does not match the nature of the injuries, but the military investigator was not interested in the conscript's words. In mid-February, his father said that after the injury, Magomedbek half of his body does not function.
According to the official version, the conscript from Dagestan received skull injuries when falling from a tower, although there is reason to believe that he was beaten, said the head of the Public Monitoring Commission for Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev, calling for an investigation into what happened in the unit. The father of the injured man appealed to Dagestan deputies asking them to look into the incident and prevent the matter from being hushed up.
The father of injured conscript Magomedbek Khizbulaev posted a video asking for a loan. Magomednur Khizbulaev explained that he has been caring for his son for almost seven months and is currently unable to return to work.
According to Khizbulaev Sr., he needs more than 400,000 rubles. He emphasized his intention to repay the money in the future. "I don't just need it, I need it as a loan. I'll write a promissory note," he said in a recording published on Shamil Khadulaev's Telegram channel.
The family hasn't received any support from the Dagestani authorities—neither from officials nor from members of parliament, Magomednur Khizbulaev told the "Caucasian Knot."
"Absolutely nothing. I wanted to meet with a State Duma deputy here in Moscow. I've been trying for two months now, but I can't. They don't have time. There's been no help from officials. As for the investigation, they've decided that my son fell from a KamAZ truck. I'm currently in the hospital with him and can't go to work. My family is in Sochi, renting an apartment, plus I have to pay rent there. Because of this, I asked for help, to borrow money with a promissory note," he said.
The court hearing in Voronezh is scheduled for June 30, Magomednur said. "I need to go to Voronezh with my son, but at the hospital they tell us, 'We'll only release him if he's discharged, and then we won't accept him back.' They won't let him go any other way. But if we are discharged, we'll have to do the rest of the treatment ourselves, and that's expensive. We also need to be present in court: they say he fell, but no one wants to do an independent examination," Khizbulaev said.
According to his father, the injured young man has already undergone two surgeries at Burdenko Hospital. "They performed one operation, and they put titanium on both sides of his head. On the 6th, they discovered a hematoma, opened him up again, performed another operation, and removed the hematoma. His left side is disabled; he uses a crutch to get to the toilet and back on his own. Furthermore, after the surgery, he developed epilepsy and his vision has begun to deteriorate. All of this requires further, comprehensive rehabilitation. "Furthermore, his foot is crooked and needs to be straightened: his leg doesn't obey him, it twitches, his arm doesn't work, he can't hold anything," Khizbulaev explained.
He provided the "Caucasian Knot" with photos and videos of his son's condition before and after the surgeries.
The head of the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission, Shamil Khadulaev, calls the investigation biased. "The investigation doesn't want to name the culprit. First they said he fell from a tower, then they said he fell from a KamAZ truck, then they said he fell from an armored personnel carrier. In short, the investigation is demonstrating unscrupulousness and unprofessionalism. It's obvious from looking at the man that he was beaten, but they simply can't admit that he was beaten, and they're covering for the perpetrator. "I can't find any other explanation," Khadulaev told the "Caucasian Knot."
According to him, the head of the Dagestan Ministry of Nationalities tried to resolve the issue, but it was to no avail. Khadulaev recalled that the acting Minister of National Policy and Religious Affairs of Dagestan, Temirlan Abutalimov, "had an accident" in early March and was on sick leave for a month. "But now I don't know what the matter is," Khadulaev added. Abutalimov, according to his official Telegram channel, returned to work on April 10.