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Dagestan

Trial of insurgents’ case reopens in Dagestan

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DAGESTAN, September 13, Caucasus Times – The trial of the case of insurgents who belonged to Gelayev’s guerilla group reopened today in Makhachlkala, Dagestan, Caucasus Times correspondent reports.

The guerilla group of 36 militants led by Chechen warlord Ruslan Gelayev, according to prosecutors, infiltrated Dagestan, in December 2003. The militants had killed nine soldiers of a Russian frontier guards unit in a firefight near Russian-Georgian border.

A special operation of Russian “power structures” including special task forces and aircrafts being carried out for a month resulted in a nearly total destroy of the militant group. The field commander was reported killed in the battle. Later, his body was identified as well by experts as his relatives.

Eight survived militants, namely Umashev, Magomedov, Umarov, Gazmagomedov, Akbulatov, Umakhanov, Hajjiyev and Mohammedov were captured, five – in Dagestan, three – were arrested by Georgian frontier guards who eventually handed them over to the Russian side. All arrested militants are Chechen residents of Chechnya and Dagestan. They testified during initial interrogation that their group led by Ruslan Gelayev was heading from Chechnya through the territory of Dagestan for some guerilla bases in Georgia.

The site of the Supreme Court building where the case is being tried remain under tightened security guard. The trial has been suspended three times. Several witnesses from Tsuntinsky district of Dagestan have been called on to testify before the court.

Abdul Suleymanov, Caucasus Times, Makhachkala

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The “Free Eurasia” project is an independent media platform based in Prague, with an ambitious mission to provide the regions of Central Asia and the Caucasus with high-quality, objective and timely information in their national languages. We unite the expertise of editors and journalists working in Tajik, Uzbek, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Circassian, Avar and Russian to break the monopoly of state-run Russian-language media and amplify the voices of local communities. Direction Our work focuses on comprehensive coverage of social, political, economic and cultural developments in Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as the issues facing diasporas in Russia, Turkey, China and other countries. We produce news, analytical articles, video reports, podcasts, interviews and journalistic investigations. Special attention is paid to topics rarely addressed by state media: human rights violations, corruption, ethnic and cultural identity, migration and international relations. We strive to engage audiences of all ages, with a particular emphasis on young people and residents of remote regions, offering them digital content in their native languages. Goal Our main goal is to promote the development and sustainability of independent media in Central Asia and the Caucasus. We aim to strengthen the region’s informational sovereignty by expanding access to truthful sources and raising media literacy. At the same time, we support the development of national languages as key elements of identity and cultural heritage, encouraging public discussion and engagement. The project seeks to become a catalyst for building a strong civil society and defending democratic values, helping to train new professional journalists and fostering international cooperation.

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