All these cases are united not only by some delay in retribution. Lawyers note that the charges are “tailored” according to one template: no objective evidence, only the testimony of previously convicted persons, which are also classified. Their names are unknown, their faces are hidden even in court, so their evidence cannot be verified or refuted.
As Memorial found out, cases of attacks on Pskov paratroopers are being investigated by one group of investigators from the Main Investigations Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the North Caucasus Federal District, and its core composition does not actually change.
Over the years, the number of these criminal cases is only growing. The wording in the documents is copied and migrated from one criminal case to another, only the names change.
The aforementioned list of 69 captured militants, allegedly compiled back in 2000, but first surfaced only 20 years later in the case of M. Bashaev, convicted by the Shatoisky District Court in November 2021, also raises doubts. Despite the defense's requests, the list remains classified. Only fragments from it appear in the cases, so law enforcement officers still have sufficient groundwork for future charges.