A Russian court on September 12 sentenced journalist Abdulmumin Gadzhiyev from the North Caucasus region of Daghestan to 17 years in prison on charges of financing terrorism that he and his supporters reject as politically motivated. Gadzhiyev's two co-defendants -- Abubakar Rizvanov, director of a charity foundation, and IT specialist Kemal Tambiyev -- were sentenced to 18 years and 17 1/2 years in prison, respectively. Gadzhiyev's colleagues have said his arrest in 2019 was based on a “trumped-up” charge based on testimony from another suspect who subsequently said that police had extracted his testimony by torture. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Caucasus.Realities, click here.
Daghestani Journalist, Co-Defendants Handed Lengthy Prison Terms On Charges They Deny
Kemal Tambiyev (left), Abubakar Rizvanov (center), and Abdulmumin Gadzhiyev in the courtroom (file photo)