The Georgian Foreign Ministry has criticized statements made by the European Union regarding legal proceedings that could lead to the banning of five opposition parties. The ministry issued its response following comments made on October 19 by European Commission spokesperson Christian Wigand.
The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation upheld the sentence of 9 years for Dagestan native Abdul Akayev on charges of aiding terrorism. According to the investigation, he transferred money to his brother, who was a member of the banned ISIS organization.
The defense insisted that the case was rigged and that there was no evidence of guilt.
Abdul Akayev himself stated that with the money he provided, his brother had to buy medicine to treat his cancer wife, who lives in Turkey. This is proven by the correspondence between the brothers. Witnesses also confirmed Akayev’s ignorance of his brother’s involvement in ISIL activities and the distortion of their testimony.
Nevertheless, the Armed Forces sided with the lower instance and rejected the appeal of the Akayev’s defence.