The Supreme Court of Ingushetia has upheld a decision to fine Magomet Evloev, an OMON officer who had fought in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, for attacking a traffic police officer in Karabulak. The prosecution had demanded Evloev be imprisoned for the offence.
Earlier, the court of first instance convicted Evloev of using violence against a representative of the authorities and fined him ₽150,000 ($2,000). However, the original verdict did not state that Evloev served the National Guard’s OMON, or military police, instead describing him as unemployed. Following the appeal, the Supreme Court ordered that this information be restored to the text of the judgement.
Details of the case emerged from the text of the appellate ruling and a statement issued by the Supreme Court. According to the investigation, the incident took place on 9 December 2024 at the permanent Kursk checkpoint in Karabulak. Prosecutors alleged that the 28-year-old Evloev attacked a traffic police officer and knocked him to the ground. The cause of the conflict was not disclosed in the published materials. The injuries sustained by the officer were classified as not serious and Evloev pleaded not guilty.
On 15 May 2026, the court’s press service published a report on the appeal hearing. The report repeated the prosecution’s version of events but again omitted any mention of Evloev’s service in OMON. At the same time, the statement said that the verdict required amendments to clarify Evloev’s place of work.
During the appeal proceedings, Ingushetia’s Prosecutor’s Office demanded Evloev be given a harsher sentence. Prosecutors sought to replace the fine with a custodial sentence. They stressed that the offence had been committed by a serving OMON officer and that the incident had occurred in one of the city’s busiest areas. According to the prosecution, the sentence imposed did not correspond to the seriousness of Evloev’s offence.
Despite this, the Supreme Court refused to grant the prosecution’s request for imprisonment. Among the factors taken into account were Evloev’s participation in Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as two medals and a certificate of merit awarded to him by the regional Union of Veterans of the Special Military Operation — the term Russia uses to describe its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian courts regularly take participation in the war against Ukraine into account as a mitigating circumstance. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, defendants in criminal cases across Russia have received reduced sentences, changes to pre-trial restrictions, or the suspension of criminal proceedings after signing contracts with the Defence Ministry. In some cases, participation in the war has served as grounds for a suspended sentence instead of imprisonment or for postponing the execution of a sentence.
This practice has become widespread in the North Caucasus. Authorities in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Daghestan, and other republics have repeatedly reported that defendants and convicted individuals facing various criminal charges have been sent to the front. In some instances, criminal proceedings were suspended after contracts with the military were signed.
Elizaveta Chukharova
