The case of Kambiev's murder has returned to the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria.
The Fifth Cassation Court, having considered the cassation appeal of the accused, returned the case of the murder of judoka Aslan Kambiev to the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria. At the same time, the court may not re-interrogate witnesses, said the victims' lawyer.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in April, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria agreed to cancel the acquittal of Ruslan Kudaev in the case of the murder of Russian judo champion Aslan Kambiev. The case was sent for a new hearing in the first instance court. After that, the Nalchik City Court announced a long break in the case of the murder of Russian judo champion Aslan Kambiev. The lawyer for the victims' side stated about the delays in the process.
On February 1, 2022, in Nalchik on Lermontov Street, during a quarrel, multiple medalist and winner of Russian and European championships in judo and sambo Aslan Kambiev was shot. On March 8, 2022, he died at the Sklifosovsky Clinic in Moscow. On February 24, 2025, the Nalchik City Court found Ruslan Kudaev, a resident of the village of Psygansu, guilty in the case of Kambiev's murder. Kudaev was found guilty under Article 108 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder in excess of necessary self-defense) and was released from punishment (1 year and 10 months of restriction of freedom) due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. He was also acquitted of the charge of illegal acquisition of firearms (part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The case of the murder of the famous athlete, judoka Aslan Kambiev, should be considered by the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria without being sent to the first instance court. This decision was made by the Fifth Cassation Court, which reconsidered the cassation appeal in this case.
This time, the appeal was filed by the accused's side, disagreeing with the appellate court's decision to send the case for a new hearing in the first instance court. This was reported to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" by lawyer Anna Pogosyan, representing the interests of the victims' side.
The determination of the Fifth Cassation Court states that the case will be considered by the appellate instance without being sent to the first instance court. According to lawyer Pogosyan, when considering the case by the Appellate Instance, calling witnesses for interrogation is not mandatory.
"Witnesses who have already been interrogated in the first instance court are interrogated in the appeal if the court deems their summons necessary. The court may limit itself to announcing previously given testimonies," she emphasized.
After Kudaev's acquittal, the widow of the murdered stated that the court ignored the testimonies of witnesses, said the widow of the murdered. The first instance court committed numerous violations, noted the lawyer for the deceased's family.
According to the case materials, on the day of the murder, Aslan Kambiev came to talk to Kudaev, with whom he was acquainted, to ask him to stop demanding the return of money from entrepreneur Bashorov. After shooting Kambiev, Ruslan Kudaev fled and hid the weapon, which was never found. He only reported to law enforcement five days later, while the video recorders from the cafe where the murder took place disappeared.
The representatives of the victims insist that Kudaev had prepared for the murder in advance, and therefore came to the meeting place in the cafe, which belongs to his brother, with a pistol. During the investigation and in court, Kudaev claimed that he found the pistol in the cafe, either on the couch or on the floor: allegedly, it fell, and the pistol ended up in his hand by accident.
Kudaev did not provide any material assistance to the family of the deceased. He also did not apologize to either the widow of the athlete, who was left with three small children, or to the mother of the murdered.