The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don continued consideration of the criminal case against 63-year-old Grozny resident Alavdi Batykaev. According to investigators, in 1999 he joined the armed detachments of Basayev and Khattab. Batykaev is accused of participating in an attack on servicemen of the sixth parachute company of the 104th regiment of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division.

The main evidence for the prosecution is the testimony of classified witnesses. The Memorial Human Rights Center believes that Batykaev is accused unfoundedly.

At two meetings, the testimonies of 47 victims were read out, leaving 62 more. Testimony from relatives of the paratroopers was presented in almost all identical criminal cases that were brought against natives of Chechnya on charges of participation in an attack on the paratroopers. People repeat the official version or talk about the lives of their relatives before the incriminated events.

Memorial notes that along with the flawed evidence of guilt in the indictment, there is also a series of evidence of Batykaev’s innocence. These are testimony and protocols of interviews with himself, fellow villagers, acquaintances and relatives. They explained that at the time of committing the crime charged against him, Alavdi Batykaev was a civilian.