Dagestani activist has been in jail for the second year after weapons and drugs were planted on him
Activist Eduard Ataev has been in the Khasavyurt pre-trial detention center for the second year. On March 26, 2022, operatives planted a grenade, a pistol, ammunition and drugs on him, the Memorial Human Rights Center reported.
Earlier, the Supreme Court of Dagestan rejected an appeal from the defense of the ex-coordinator of the headquarters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny in Makhachkala, Eduard Atayev. Lawyers pointed out that the client had cardiovascular diseases, as well as the lack of a criminal record and evidence of his involvement in the crime.
At first, Ataev was charged with illegal possession of a grenade, pistol and ammunition. When the activist was being taken to the police station after a search of his house, in the car they forced objects that looked like a grenade and a pistol into his hands. Then he was also charged with drug possession. Eduard Atayev also noted that the investigative actions were led by a person whom he remembered after one of the pickets in Makhachkala.
Hearings in the criminal case were postponed more than twenty times for various reasons. Now the court has again suspended the process until an investigation into Atayev’s statement about gross violations by security forces during the investigation is carried out.
