In Dagestan, a court ruled the detention of journalists at pickets illegal

The Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala ruled that police actions against journalists Magomed Magomedov and Idris Yusupov, detained in January 2023, were illegal.

Despite repeated appeals from journalists and requests from lawyers, the police failed to respond for nearly two years to the illegal detention of Magomedov and Yusupov, who were holding solo pickets in support of political prisoner Abdulmumin Gadzhiev and repressed historian Khadzhi-Murad Donogo. Only in December of this year did the court uphold the appeals filed by lawyer Shamil Isaev.

In 2024, Abdulmumin Gadzhiev was sentenced to 16 years and 10 months in prison. The prosecution alleged that he supported ISIS terrorists with a 16,000-ruble transfer. He was found guilty of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization and organizing its financing. The journalist himself did not admit guilt. Human rights activists claim the criminal case is fabricated: the materials contain approximately 200 deliberate distortions, falsifications, and violations.

Dagestani historian and specialist in the Caucasus, Khadzhi-Murad Donogo, was the victim of a denunciation from the "Association of Veterans of the Special Forces." They filed a complaint against the historian with Sergei Melikov, the head of Dagestan. In their appeal, the complainants called Donogo a "nationalist and separatist." He was accused of propaganda aimed at "weakening Russia and separating the North Caucasus republics in the interests of foreign enemies." Following this, his home in Makhachkala was searched. He was later dismissed from his position as deputy director of the A. Takho-Godi National Museum of Dagestan. Khadzhi-Murad is known as the author of dozens of books and monographs, including on the Caucasian War and Imam Shamil.