Rostov trial begins over North Caucasian inmates accused of hostage-taking in failed prison escape
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has accepted a criminal case for review concerning a hostage-taking incident at Detention Centre No. 1 in June 2024.
The case involves five defendants — Daniil Kamnev from Stavropol, Ramzan Albekov and Magomed Alkhanov from Chechnya, and Malikh Gandaloev and Adam Kodzoev from Ingushetia. They are accused of serious crimes, including attempting to escape from custody, taking hostages, disrupting the functioning of the detention facility, participating in a terrorist organisation, attempting to carry out a terrorist act, and preparing to join an illegal armed group.
The date of the first hearing has not yet been announced.
According to investigators, during the night of 15–16 June 2024, an unclear number of inmates managed to break out of their cells by bending the window bars using improvised tools, including shanks and knives, and climbing down with a rope made from bedsheets. Gandaloev, who was immediately apprehended by guards, did not take part in the subsequent hostage-taking.
The remaining inmates overpowered four prison officers, injuring them, and took two staff members hostage: Alexander Bogma, the head of operational management at the facility, and junior officer Viktor Konchakov.
The escapees then published a video online in which they declared allegiance to the Islamic State, which is banned and designated as a terrorist organisation in Russia. In the video, they demanded a car and safe passage out of Russia. Negotiations were attempted with the participation of Akhmed Abusupyanov, head of the Spiritual Directorate of Muslims in the Rostov region, but were unsuccessful.
At around 11:00 on 16 June, special forces stormed the facility. The hostages were rescued unharmed, while five of the hostage-takers — Azamat Tsitskiev, Tamerlan Gireev, Shamil Akiev, Magomed Saipudinov, and Magomed Magomedov — were killed. The remaining hostage-takers were detained, among them Kamnev, who had sustained a head injury.
An internal review of the facility following the incident revealed widespread violations, including the sale of SIM cards, mobile phones, and alcohol to inmates. As a result, four staff members were dismissed and 16 disciplined. Rostov prison service chief Dmitry Bezrukikh and his first deputy Vasily Gordeev resigned. Dzhamal Nabiev was appointed head of Detention Centre No. 1, while Andrey Polyakov took over as the new head of the regional Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).
Soon after, the same court issued verdicts in previous cases against Kamnev and Gandaloev. In August 2023, Kamnev was sentenced to 23 years for preparing a terrorist attack at the Kislovodsk police department. In July 2024, Gandaloev received 20 years in a strict-regime colony for his participation with the Islamic State and for producing explosive materials. He was found to have acted alongside co-conspirators in Astrakhan and Ingushetia.
Gandaloev’s parents, however, maintain his innocence, denying any involvement in the Islamic State or the hostage-taking in Rostov.
Albekov had been convicted in March 2024 for aiding terrorist activity while Kodzoev’s case has been under review at the Southern District Military Court since late 2022. No official information has been released regarding the reasons for Alkhanov’s presence in Detention Centre No. 1 at the time of the incident.
In January 2025, new reports suggested that the men involved in the hostage-taking had also planned terror attacks and acts of sabotage in Ingushetia, with the intention of joining a local armed group. According to interrogation records, they allegedly planned to manufacture improvised explosive devices.
The hostage-taking case was submitted to the court exactly one year after the incident. The defendants now face lengthy prison sentences — up to 30 years — based on the seriousness and number of charges brought against them.
Elizaveta Chukharova
