[KavkazUzel] The Supreme Court of Dagestan sentenced a local resident to 15 years in prison for the 2011 murder of the rector of the Institute of Theology and International Relations, Maksud Sadikov, and his nephew, Zalimkhan Musayev.
As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, in April 2024, former State Duma deputy Magomed Gadzhiev was charged in absentia with organizing the murder of Maksud Sadikov, rector of the Dagestani Institute of Theology, and was placed on the wanted list.
Maksud Sadikov, a public and religious figure and rector of the Makhachkala Institute of Theology and International Relations, was shot dead  on June 7, 2011, at the entrance to his home. His nephew, Zalimkhan Musayev, was also killed. Investigators considered Sadikov's professional activities—specifically, his active advocacy "against the extremist trend of Islam"—as the primary motive for the murder. Â
Activists and Caucasus scholars interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" in June 2011 suggested that forces opposing the reconciliation process between religious communities in Dagestan were behind Maksud Sadikov's murder.
According to the case materials, unidentified individuals were recruited to commit the murder of the religious figure and his nephew, and they engaged the defendant and another individual, whose identity could not be established, as the direct perpetrators.
The defendant and his accomplice had collected information about the victim, his daily routine, and his mode of transportation in advance, and had also acquired a firearm. Knowing that the victim was accompanied by an armed bodyguard, who was his nephew, the criminals planned to kill both of them.
On June 7, 2011, in the courtyard of a building on Abubakarov Street in Makhachkala, the accomplices waited for the victims to return and opened fire on them. The attackers fired at least 30 shots. Both died at the scene from their wounds. The two other people in the car with them were unharmed.
The criminal case was investigated on the grounds of the murder of two people, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, for hire
The case against the alleged organizer of the crime, which he committed due to personal animosity, has been separated into a separate proceeding, the press service clarified.
"The Criminal Division of the Supreme Court of Dagestan sentenced the defendant to 15 years' imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. The sentence has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed to a higher court," the statement reads.
According to "Chernovika", the convict is an employee of the security enterprise Ramazan Magomedov.
In 2024, the Investigative Committee announced that it had solved the murder of Maksud Sadikov, naming former State Duma deputy Magomed Gadzhiev, who is currently abroad, as the organizer of the murder, Kommersant reported on the night of April 10 in its article " Deputy's order fulfilled with excess."
Before his election to the State Duma, Magomed Gadzhiev served as Deputy Head of the State Tax Inspectorate for Dagestan and Deputy Head of the Interregional Inspectorate of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties. He first received a State Duma seat in 2003, and his final term expired in 2021.
On May 26, 2023, the Ministry of Justice added Magomed Gadzhiev to the register of foreign agents. The reason cited was Gadzhiev's support for the Ukrainian government and his willingness to cooperate with foreign sources to obtain citizenship. The following day, Magomed Gadzhiev was expelled  from the ruling United Russia party.
"The suspect in the murder, security company employee Ramazan Magomedov, was arrested in March 2023. According to investigators, he and an unidentified accomplice shot at Messrs. Sadikov and Musayev. Magomedov, whose case is being heard in the Supreme Court of Dagestan, denies any involvement in the crime," the publication states.
The case against Gadzhiev was separated into a separate proceeding. In particular, employees of the Makhachkala-based private security company "Gard-M," who worked for the security company in 2010-2011, were questioned as witnesses, the publication writes.
"The investigation also focused on the head of the private security company Sphinx Alliance and the former general director of the Makhachkala Commercial Sea Port (MCSP), Akhmed Gadzhiev. According to Kommersant, the brother of the State Duma deputy, the alleged organizer of the crime, went on an extended leave in 2017 and, without returning to his job at MCSP, left Russia.
According to unofficial reports, investigators have questions for the port's general director regarding several criminal cases that were under investigation," the publication reports.
According to the case file, in early June 2011, the deputy, "amid a previously established personal animosity with Maksud Sadikov, decided to organize his murder by hiring assassins. "To commit the crime, he recruited 'individuals not identified by the investigation' and instructed them to find those who, for money, could kill the rector. No later than June 7, the order was carried out—Ramazan Magomedov and an unknown individual were selected as the shooters," the author of the material, Yulia Rybina, noted.
As a reminder, Maksud Sadikov was known  for his socio-political work, including as the leader of the all-Russian political movement "Nur" (Light). From 1997 to 1999, he worked in the Russian Ministry of National Policy; from 1999 to 2000, he served as a consultant to the Department of Local Government at the Russian Ministry of Federation and Nationalities; and from 2000 to 2002, he served at the Russian Ministry of Federation, Nationalities, and Migration Policy. From 1998 to 1999, Sadikov led the Russian Hajj Mission, which organized the pilgrimage for Russian Muslims.