The court in Dagestan has tightened the sentence for police officers for the falsification of the case against Yuldus Kurashova.
The Supreme Court of Dagestan has tightened the punishment for police officers Shamil Aliyev and Ramazan Saipulaev for torture and falsification of the case against local resident Yuldus Kurashova, replacing the suspended sentence with a real one. Maya Akhmedova's previous court sentence - a fine of 150,000 rubles - was upheld.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on May 26, the court in Khasavyurt found three police officers - Shamil Aliyev, Ramazan Saipulaev, and Maya Akhmedova - guilty of falsifying a criminal case against local resident Yuldus Kurashova, but released them from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. For the torture of Kurashova, Aliyev was sentenced to three years and six months probation under the article on abuse of power, while Saipulaev received three years probation. Later, police officer Maya Akhmedova appealed the guilty verdict against her.
On March 26, 2020, law enforcement officers detained Yuldus Kurashova in Khasavyurt while she was traveling in a taxi with a friend. According to Kurashova, she was beaten, insulted, threatened with the loss of parental rights, and the initiation of a drug case. Kurashova transferred 250,000 rubles to the law enforcement officers through an intermediary, but still faced criminal prosecution. A case against the law enforcement officers was initiated after Kurashova complained about the harsh detention and coercion to self-incrimination in drug trafficking. In December 2020, a resident of Khasavyurt admitted in court that he acted as an intermediary in transferring money from Kurashova to the law enforcement officers.
The Supreme Court of Dagestan reviewed the appeals of the prosecutor, representatives of the victim, and the convicted police officers Shamil Aliyev and Ramazan Saipulaev, as well as operative officer Maya Akhmedova in the case of torture and falsification of the criminal case against Yuldus Kurashova on October 14, as reported by the "Team Against Torture"*, which monitors this process.
Shamil Aliyev and Ramazan Saipulaev, who were serving a suspended sentence, demanded an acquittal, but the court replaced their suspended sentence with a real one to be served in a general regime colony. At the same time, the court softened their additional punishment in the form of a ban on holding positions in law enforcement agencies for a period of 1 year and 6 months. Maya Akhmedova's previous court sentence - a fine of 150,000 rubles - was upheld.
According to human rights defenders, this is already the third review of the case by the Supreme Court of Dagestan. Previously, it had twice overturned the verdict and sent it for reconsideration. The first verdict in this case was issued in December 2022, when police officers Aliyev and Saipulaev were found guilty and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. Operative officer Maya Akhmedova was found guilty of falsifying evidence and sentenced to one year probation.
Kurashova's story is an unusual case where a woman fights for her rights, said earlier the president of the Center for Research on Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development" Saida Sirazhudina. "This is a very rare case. Most understand that it is simply useless to fight. And they step back. There are many fabrications. And very often neither lawyers nor evidence work. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't fight. Her struggle is primarily a struggle for honor. In the region, this is especially important for women. Otherwise, she will be reproached and looked at sideways for the rest of her life," she told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".
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