"Chernovik" case in Dagestan: court hears evidences

On March 9-10, the trial continued in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on the criminal case initiated against journalists of the local weekly named "Chernovik" (Blueprint), accused of kindling national, racial and religious enmity.

On the first day witnesses were heard - employees of law enforcement bodies, both active and retired.

Thus, Militia Lieutenant-Colonel Abdurashid Beibulatov, head of the Kaitag ROVD and former deputy commander of the Patrol-Sentry Militia Regiment No. 2 (PSMR-2) at the Makhachkala UVD (Interior Department), said that journalists' materials played a positive role in the life of Dagestan. "The 'Chernovik' journalists wrote only about realities of today's Dagestan. It's not their guilt that some people are shooting, others - blow up their mines, and bureaucrats take bribes," he said.

In his opinion, the process against journalists was initiated by the former top management of the local MIA and Prosecutor's Office. "The late Interior Minister Adilgerei Magomedtagirov and former Public Prosecutor Igor Tkachov didn't like the fundamental and fair position of the weekly; therefore, they had initiated a criminal case against them," Mr Beibulatov said to the court.

Another witness - Militia Lieutenant-Colonel Magomed Guseinov, deputy head of PSMR-1 at the Makhachkala UVD, - said that he came to the court voluntarily in the hope that the structure where he serves would change for the best. "I'm worried that journalists of the independent newspaper can receive real imprisonment term. It shouldn't be admitted; they guilty of nothing. But I'm also concerned of the current situation in the militia. The system is corrupted and non-professional - this is the explanation of so many mistakes. And when journalists point to them, the lacks should be corrected, instead of initiating criminal cases," he said.

His speech was supported by Militia Captain Ruslan Rasulov, a senior communications engineer of the Road-Sentry Service of the Makhachkala UVD. He has also stated that he has no claims to journalists. "They are accused of kindling enmity to guards of order; but this is a lie - I've never seen any kindling of this sort in the materials of the weekly," he asserted.

Magomed Shamilov, chairman of the independent trade union of law enforcers and prosecutor of Dagestan, said that Dagestan-based independent media relieve tension in the republic, to a certain extent. "An ordinary person lives hard in Dagestan. The only places where he or she can find a piece of understanding are the free media. Now, the authorities want to deprive the society of this free outlet," said Mr Shamilov.

Other speeches followed - the state accuser listened to them silently.

On March 10, the judicial hearing continued. The witnesses - father and son Mamatkhan and Gasan Baisultanov - were invited; the father said that on November 3, 2006, militiamen surrounded his son's household, where he lived with his pregnant wife Sapiyat Magomedova.

"The guards of order opened fire on innocent people: my son with grave wounds in the area of his heart was hospitalized, and his wife died in place from numerous gunshot wounds. At the trial we managed to prove innocence of my son and daughter-in-law, but the militiamen are still unpunished, although everyone knows their names," said Baisultanov-senior.

The state accuser was again a silent listener; however, at the end of the session he asked to reject the petitions asking to announce the conclusions of the linguistic examination made by the journalists.

The session was announced over, and next time the parties will come on March 12.