Defense Witnesses in Ingush Seven Trial Say Signatories of Ingush-Chechen Land Deal are the Guilty Parties

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 27 – At this week’s session of the Essentuki trial of the Ingush Seven, nine defense witnesses unanimously declared that none of the Ingush Seven was guilty of the charges of inciting violence at the March 2019 protests. Instead, they all insisted the guilty parties were Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Chechnya’s Ramzan Kadyrov who signed the land give-away earlier.

            Their testimony will certainly echo with the population, but it likely will not affect the verdict of the court. Six of the nine who testified themselves have been convicted (fortanga.org/2021/07/devyat-svidetelej-zashhity-podtverdili-nevinovnost-liderov-ingushskogo-protesta/). And the others have been publicly on the side of the Seven for a long time.

            Among these were Ibragim Doskiyev, a justice of the Constitutional Court of Ingushetia (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/366437/), DeputyMufti Magomed Khastyrov, Daymokh National Cultural Center leader Elberd Darbazanov, and activist Ramzan Sultygov (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/366437/, fortanga.org/2021/07/darya-kornilova-predstavila-podrobnosti-zasedaniya-po-mitingovomu-delu/, and  fortanga.org/2021/07/svideteli-po-mitingovomu-delu-obvinili-prezhnie-vlasti-ingushetii-v-narushenii-prav-zhitelej/).

            Meanwhile, in another case, a Nazran court extended the detention of Abbas Khamkhoyev for two months. He has been charged with possession of illegal explosives, a charge he earlier admitted to in part (fortanga.org/2021/07/abbas-hamhoev-zaklyuchen-pod-strazhu-na-dva-mesyacza/).