Arslan Taushev and Rasul Koshmanbetov, previously sentenced to eight years, were again charged after their release - this time with an attack on Pskov paratroopers. The defendants alleged torture and falsification of the case.
According to investigators, both men participated in the second Russian-Chechen war on the side of the field commander Khattab. In 1999, they allegedly attacked soldiers of the sixth parachute company of the 104th regiment of the 76th Pskov Airborne Division as part of a detachment.
Koshmanbetov and Taushev claim that they were not members of any illegal armed groups and did not participate in battles and they are being retried for studying at the “Islamic Institute of the Chechen Republic “Caucasus””. All the prosecution's evidence is based on the testimony of a classified witness.
In 2015, Taushev and Koshmanbetov were found guilty by the Supreme Court of Chechnya of participating in an illegal armed group for studying at the Islamic Institute of the Chechen Republic "Caucasus". Both defendants pleaded not guilty. According to Taushev, during the investigation the “necessary” testimony was extracted by torture. Then they were sentenced to eight years in prison.
