Dagestani lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova awarded Per Anger Prize

Today, in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, Sapiyat Magomedova, lawyer from Dagestan today received an award named Per Anger.

The award was established by the Swedish Government and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the struggle for democracy and human rights. Per Anger was an associate of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, and during the Second World War, together they saved in Budapest lives of thousands of Jews.

Sapiyat Magomedova defended and defends residents of Dagestan at the many resonant trials. She was nominated for the Prize by the Swedish Helsinki Committee. The Prize was presented by Erik Ullenhag, Minister for Integration in Swedish Government.

"Sapiyat Magomedova defends victims of serious human rights violations. She accepted the cases that many lawyers would not accept for reasons of security. And she won cases that were almost impossible to be won. She has become a symbol of courage for people in the region," reports the statement on the website of the Swedish Helsinki Committee.

The decision to award Sapiyat Magomedova with the Prize was supported by Lyudmila Alekseeva, Chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group.

"Sapiyat Magomedova is a very self-sacrificing and very courageous person, since in Dagestan, it is, of course, dangerous to defend those persons, whom she defends, those persons out of favour of the authorities. However, she does that very adequately," said Lyudmila Alekseeva.

In Dagestan, for her colleagues, Sapiyat Magomedova is an example to be followed. This was stated by Adilgerei Omarov, Chief of the Bar Association "Omarov and Partners" (Khasavyurt).

"I am very happy for Sapiyat, and I am happy that she answered my expectations. She was my first student, a very intelligent and hard-working, and very soon, she began to work on her own. Some lawyers envy her in good sense, some in bad sense; however, for all, she is an example to be followed. When the client's interests and the protection of human rights are in question, she does not listen to anybody, and no calls or no requests from relatives do not affect her work. She places work and lawfulness in the first place," Adilgerei Omarov said.

Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, Project Director of the International Crisis Group in Northern Caucasus, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", believes that awarding Sapiyat Magomedova the Prize is recognition of the fact that in Northern Caucasus, the problem of human rights is very serious.

"Recent years, Sapiyat accepts the most difficult cases, in which she has to come across torture, unlawful detentions and kidnappings, and falsification of evidence against suspects. She uses all her strengths to fight for the rights of her clients, and very often she manages not only to prove their innocence, but also institute criminal cases against policemen, who had used unlawful methods of investigation," Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya said.