Human rights defenders in Nalchik faced a lack of data on terrorism cases.
The Human Rights Center of Kabardino-Balkaria does not have detailed information about fabricated "terrorist" cases, as people are afraid to contact human rights defenders after recommendations from security forces not to complain anywhere.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", 114 residents of the republic signed an open letter to federal authorities, demanding to check the actions of local security forces. The authors claim that over two years, employees of the republican FSB have fabricated evidence and brought more than a hundred people to justice on charges of intending to join "Imarat Kavkaz"*. The main evidence, they say, consists of planted phones with identical correspondence in Telegram.
The Human Rights Center of Kabardino-Balkaria received a letter from residents of the republic about the fabrication of cases related to involvement in "Imarat Kavkaz"*, but specific applicants with detailed information about various instances of such persecution have not contacted human rights defenders, said the representative of the human rights organization, Zaur Shokuev.
"People are afraid to write to us, and they are persuaded not to contact anyone. But after the publication, I hope specific individuals will come forward. They really exist, and we have heard rumors about mass detentions in the republic," he said.
How many people have already been convicted in the cases mentioned in the letter, Shokuev could not say, noting only that reports of sentences in similar cases periodically appear. As an example, he cited the recent sentence of 18-year-old resident of the village of Nizhny Kurkuzhin, Alihan Shaoev.
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don found Shaoev guilty of joining "Imarat Kavkaz"* and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. According to the court, in November-December 2025, he recorded a voice message about joining the organization and sent it to a person who was supposed to pass the message to the leader. The first two years of the sentence will be served in prison, the remaining time in a strict regime colony.
Details of the trial can only be provided by lawyers, whom the center does not know, Shokuev explained. "Caucasian Knot" does not have data on whether Shaoev's case is related to the letter.
Shokuev did not rule out that the letter refers to a sharp increase in the number of such cases. "But no one has officially contacted us. There are criminal cases, although the appeal is generalized. There is no detailed information on each case," he pointed out.
The work of law enforcement is assessed not by the calmness in the region, but by the number of solved cases, said the chairwoman of the committee "Civic Assistance" Svetlana Gannushkina**.
"Categories of cases, articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are determined by the leadership. This is how campaigns against drugs, pedophilia, terrorism, and so on begin. And each time, to 'fulfill the plan', fabrications begin in the cases of the designated campaign," Gannushkina** told "Caucasian Knot".
The case of Emkujev
"Caucasian Knot" previously reported on the case of 19-year-old resident of Nalchik, Kazbek Emkujev, accused of participating in a terrorist organization. The case is being heard by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. In addition to Emkujev, the case involves Mansur Kamolov, Aslan Makoev, Ibrahim Albogachiev, Mukhamed Shomakhov, and Temirkan Balkarov.
Emkujev's lawyer, Ramzan Uzuyev, says that the only connection between the accused is that they lived in the same area and played computer games in the same club. According to the materials, Emkujev and two other defendants, Tamirlan Chepchikov and Ratmir Murachayev, were kidnapped by unknown individuals, beaten, and subjected to electric torture. On April 12, 2024, security forces announced that Chepchikov and Murachayev were "liquidated" during a counter-terrorist operation. Investigations into their deaths, it was reported, were not conducted.
In July 2025, the court began examining the materials of the case, including the examinations of the defendants' phones. Emkujev's phone was not among those sent for examination; the reason for this was not stated, and relatives claim that there is no information about his phone in the case materials. Makoev's phone contained correspondence with a girl not involved in the case. Makoev stated that half of the examined text does not belong to him.
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* the organization is recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia.
** included in the Russian register of foreign agents.
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