[KavkazUzel] The court found four residents of Ingushetia guilty of participating in a terrorist organization, an illegal armed group, and possession of weapons and explosives, sentencing them to terms ranging from 17 to 20 years. The defendants denied their guilt.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in October 2022, the Investigative Committee completed its criminal investigation into Arbi Batayev, Adam and Timur Kodzoyev, and Iriskhan Mereshkov, members of the international terrorist organization "Caucasus Emirate",
| ...that’s the Chechnya Al Qaeda franchise… |
A counterterrorism operation was underway in Nazran and the village of Sagopshi in the Malgobek District of Ingushetia on the evening of August 6, 2020. A law enforcement source reported two militants killed, and another detained. Ingush television named the dead as Yusup Bunguyev, born in 1990, and Khusein Gadamauri, born in 1988.
According to the court, between November 14, 2013, and January 2020, the convicted individuals joined an illegal armed group of a banned international terrorist organization in Ingushetia, the press service of the Southern District Military Court reported on its Telegram channel on February 5.
Arbi Batayev, Adam and Timur Kodzoyev, and Iriskhan Mereshkov were involved in supporting the group's activities, including transporting other members (as previously reported by investigators, in particular, Yusup Bunguyev), finding them places to hide, and illegally storing firearms, ammunition, explosive devices, and explosive substances.
At the court hearing, the defendants did not admit guilt in committing the crimes they were accused of.
They were found guilty of participating in a terrorist organization., participation in an armed formation, possession of weapons and explosives.
The court sentenced Arbi Bataev to 17 years, with the first six years to be served in prison, with a fine of 600,000 rubles; Adam Kodzoev to 19 years, with the first seven years to be served in prison, with a fine of 660,000 rubles; Timur Kodzoev to 18 years, with the first six years to be served in prison, with a fine of 600,000 rubles; and Iriskhan Mereshkov to 20 years, with the first seven years to be served in prison, with a fine of 660,000 rubles.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that security forces may mention the operation of a "Caucasus Emirate"* cell in Ingushetia in criminal cases to demonstrate their work, as orientalist Alexei Malashenko previously noted. The investigation's theory about this cell is not credible, as there have been previous cases of intelligence agencies publishing false information, noted human rights activist Magomed Mutsolgov. Perhaps the "Caucasus Emirate"* has begun to be mentioned again in criminal cases due to the escalation of separatism, suggested lawyer Timofey Shirokov.
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