Makhachkala-based lawyer Zaur Kaituev has accused members of Daghestan’s Centre for Countering Extremism (CCE) of abducting him and beating him.
Kaituev was reportedly assaulted by the staff of the centre on 18 June after he had arrived to provide legal assistance to one of his clients.
Citing the lawyer’s official complaint submitted to the Russian Interior Ministry, Daghestani daily Chernovik wrote that within minutes of Kaituev’s arrival to the centre, ‘unknown individuals in balaclavas’ arrived and began beating his client and the client’s brother. Kaituev said he attempted to intervene, identified himself, and showed his attorney identification, but was ‘kicked to the ground’, thrown onto the pavement, and forcibly put into a police van.
Kaituev told Chernovik that he was then taken to the CCE building, where his hands were bound with duct tape, a plastic bag was placed over his head, and he was beaten further.
‘Then I was struck on the head and lost consciousness. When I came to, I again stated that I was a lawyer [...] I was taken either to the second or third floor, where I was kept for another hour with a bag over my head and my hands bound. While there, officers searched my phone for any compromising material’, Kaituev told Chernovik.
Kaituev added that when his assailants removed the bag, they apologised to him before escorting him out through the back entrance of the building. Following the incident, Kaituev was diagnosed with a closed craniocerebral injury, abrasions on his neck and shoulder, and bruising to his left elbow.
The head of the Public Monitoring Commission of Daghestan, Shamil Khadulaev, has said that photographs and video material from the incident showed the use of unlawful methods against Kaituev.
After news of Kaituev’s alleged abduction and beating became public, around 20 lawyers expressed willingness to represent him. According to Chernovik, several lawyers arrived promptly at the CCE building but were reportedly denied entry on the orders of the management.
In his official complaint to Russia’s Interior Ministry, Kaituev requested an investigation into the actions of officers from the Internal Security and CCE departments. He also called for the retrieval of footage from external surveillance cameras near the buildings, which, he claims, captured the crimes committed against him.
As of publication, the Daghestani authorities have yet to issue any official statements regarding the incident.
Elizaveta Chukharova
