The Khasavyurt District Court of Dagestan sentenced the ex-coordinator of Navalny's headquarters, Eduard Ataev, to 6.5 years in prison. The defendant did not admit guilt. In court, he told how during the search the security forces planted drugs on him, and alleged torture and gross violations during the investigation.
The activist also stated that he connects his criminal prosecution with his civil and political position and opposition to corruption schemes in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan. Eduard Ataev was a representative of the “Voice” movement in Dagestan, the head of the representative office of the “Parnas” party, the coordinator of the local headquarters of Alexei Navalny, and an outspoken critic of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Since the end of March 2022, Ataev has been under arrest in pre-trial detention center No. 3 of Khasavyurt, accused of possession of weapons and explosives (Part 1 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code) and drugs (Article 228 of the Criminal Code). His assistant Murad Manapov was forced to leave Russia after pressure from the security forces.
