Journalist of the Dagestan newspaper “Chernovik” Abdulmumin Gadzhiev was given 17 years in prison on charges of terrorism.
Other defendants in the case received the following sentences:
entrepreneur Kemal Tambiev – 17.5 years old, head of the Ansar charity foundation Abubakar Rizvanov – 18 years old.
Gadzhiev is accused of participating in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and financing terrorism (Part 4 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
According to investigators, while working as editor of the “Religion” department at Chernovik, he published articles about the Ansar charitable foundation and “deliberately did not mention” that part of the money that the organization collected was used to continue the activities of the Islamic State in Syria.
Gadzhiev was also accused of participating in an extremist community (Part 2 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The investigation claims that from 2009 to 2013, the editor, along with two other defendants in the case, the former founder of the Ansar Foundation Abubakar Rizvanov and businessman Kamal Tambiev, participated in the work of the organizations “Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan” and the “Higher Military Majlisul Shura of the United Mujahideen forces of the Caucasus”, recognized as terrorist in Russia.
Gadzhiev stated that all the charges against him were falsified. Earlier at the trial, the journalist reported that he did not transfer money to the fund, and heard Tambiev’s name for the first time after the initiation of a criminal case, Mediazona reports. “During the break, I was in a cage with two other detainees. I asked which of them was Tambiev. An exhausted and beaten man responded to his last name. I am sure that other witnesses were in the same condition. Tambiev apologized to me and admitted that he was tortured,” – he said.
Gadzhiev later noted: “Many times I wondered how the operatives identified as “accomplices” a lawyer from Verkhny Inkhelo, a programmer from Balashikha near Moscow and a simple rural guy from Makhachkala. I don’t have an answer. But for this amazing meeting I tell them, seems grateful.”
“I sincerely regret that I was not acquainted with my “accomplices” earlier,” says Tambiev. “For the sake of such acquaintance, I wouldn’t mind spending time in prison.”
According to Rizvanov, he is also “very glad that the investigation chose such wonderful people as Abdulmumin and Kemal as my “accomplices”: “Young people should take an example from them! Their principles and values will never allow them to commit a crime or even injustice in against anyone.”
Gadzhiev was arrested in June 2019, all this time he was kept in a pre-trial detention center. The journalist was detained after a search in his house.
Gadzhiev stated that testimony against him was extorted from Kemal Tambiev, who is also a suspect in this case. According to Gadzhiev, Tambiev apologized to him and explained that he did it under torture – traces of beatings are visible on Tambiev’s face.
Deputy editor-in-chief of Chernovik Magomed Magomedov believes that Gadzhiev’s case was revenge from the security forces for critical publications in the newspaper. The editors of the publication compared the situation with Gadzhiev to the detention of journalist Ivan Golunov in Moscow: “They are trying to charge the editor of the Religion department of the Dagestan newspaper Chernovik, Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, with an absurd charge: financing extremism.” This is about the same as planting drugs on Ivan Golunov. Moscow. Abdulmumin Gadzhiev is one of the oldest employees of Chernovik, and his articles on religious topics always found a positive response from readers and were widely discussed.”
Memorial recognized Abdulmumin Gadzhiev as a political prisoner.
