Dagestan: "Secret Wintesses" Questioned in Evloev's Trial

[Human Rights Center Memorial]

Dagestan: "Secret Wintesses" Questioned in Evloev's Trial

On June 5, 2012, a hearing in the case of Sergey Evloev, dob 1991, took place in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan. Evloev is being accused of violating part 2 article 208 (organization of illegal armed group or participation in one), part 2 article 209 (banditry), article 317 (attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer), part 3 article 222 (illegal purchase, transfer, sale, storage, or carrying of weapons, parts, ammunition, explosives and explosive devices) and part 2 article 167 (intentional destruction of or damage to property) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The hearing started with the interrogation of "secret witnesses" for prosecution, officers of power structures. One of them who appears in the trial under a pseudonym Ruslan Abdulaev informed the court that they had received operative information at the department that Sergey Evloev was a member of the illegal armed formation leaded by Sheikhov. In summer of 2011 a search was conducted in Evloev's house during which arms were found. Evloev was detained. Law enforcement officers persuaded him to tell the truth about Sheikhov and to share other data in which they were interested. Then he turned himself in and signed related documents.

During the hearing Abdulaev also said that Sheikhov was a leader of a criminal band in the city of Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan which was committing robbery, extortion, armed attacks at power structures' officers, organizing subversive and terrorist activities. The witness asserted that Evloev had been charged with following policemen, their movements and passing information to the members of the band. During the investigation Abdulaev persuaded Evloev to tell the truth. And the latest confessed of blowing up a car belonging to district police officer of the Soviet district of Makhachkala D. Khalikov. To realize this he got explosives from the members of the band and placed it under the policeman's car. When Evloev's lawyer Z. Uvaisov asked if he knew anything about Evloev's abduction he replied that he didn't.

The second "secret witness" who  appears in the case under a pseudonym Alikhan Alikhanov told the court that he along with the colleagues was carrying out investigation regarding Sheikhov's group which was committing attempts at policemen's lives including that of Khalikov, threatened businessmen. The officers of the structure had information that Evloev was one of the members of the band and that he had been the one to attempt at Khalikov's life. This data, according to A. Alikhanov, was confirmed when Evloev turned himself in and signed relevant document. The witness is sure that Khalikov's car was mined by Evloev. Information about Sheikhov's band which Alikhanov gave was alike that of Abdulaev. He added that Evloev was a member of the group and was being taught in the Balakhani village of the Yntsykylsky district of Dagestan which he confirmed while turning himself in. Alikhanov says that he didn't have a hand in the search in Evloev's house and that the abduction of the accused is Evloev's invention. Arms found in the course of the search were passed to him by Sheikhov's band's members. When the lawyer asked when he got this information - before or after Evloev's detention, the witness couldn't give an answer.

During the hearing Evloev applied to the court for a permission to let him make a statement on tortures to which he was put by the policemen. The judge turned the request down.

The third "secret witness" under a pseudonym Rashid Gasanov gave the same information as previous witnesses did. He also said that he hadn't participated in the search in Evloev's house. He knows nothing about the abduction of Evloev.

Witness for the prosecution Islam Aligishiev was interrogated during the hearing. Earlier he said that he had been used to driving his cousin, member of illegal armed formation Garun Aligishiev. He also said that Garun along with the band was threatening businessmen and setting of explosions. On June 5 hearing he renounced the testimony given previously. He stated that he didn't know the injured Khalikov and that he had got to know Evloev only during the investigation.

Rustam Arabkhanov, witness for the prosecution, who had carried out the search in Evloev's house did not attend the hearing. He is on vacation outside Dagestan now.

The next hearing is set for June 9, 2012.

We should remind you that according to the materials of the criminal case in 2010 Evloev got to know members of illegal armed formations Aligishiev and Sheikhov who persuaded him to join the so-called "Makhachkala Jamaat." He was doing different tasks for them: following policemen, noting their routes, license plates, passing this information to band's members. He also bought an explosive device using which he tried to attempt district police officer D. Khalikov's life by setting it under his car. Nonetheless, according to Evloev's application to HRC Memorial in 2011 he was abducted by law enforcement officers several times. They drove him to the outskirts, tortured and beat him demanding of him to confess of committing a crime which he didn't commit. According to Sergey, in summer of 2011 during the search they planted an automatic gun and took Sergey with them to Leninsky ROVD of Makhachkala. After beatings they took him to the public prosecutor's office where all charging papers were composed. He was tortured with electricity and beaten up during 19 days in the detention center. He could not stand tortures and turned himself in on which the policemen were insisting.

For more information on Evloev's case see: http://www.memo.ru/eng/news/2012/05/29/2905122.html.

June 7, 2012