The trial of the leader of Ingush militants began in Rostov-on-Don

The North Caucasus District Military Court yesterday began hearings in the case of one of the leaders of the bandit underground, Doku Umarov's closest associate, Ali Taziev (Magas). During the meeting, the indictment was announced and the procedure for considering the evidence and the presentation of the parties was determined. Magas, who faces a life sentence, admitted his guilt under the lightest of the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation incriminated against him.

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Ali Taziev confessed to less serious crimes

Photo: Kommersant / Vasily Deryugin

Photo: irp.ru

Photo: Photo ITAR-TASS / Valery Matytsin

The hearings were held in the open with a large gathering of journalists and security officials. Special forces were on duty at the courthouse, and at the hearing itself there were armed bailiffs in masks. The judge, prosecutors and prosecution witnesses were under state protection. It was to ensure their safety that the process was moved from Ingushetia to Rostov-on-Don.

When presiding officer Oleg Volkov was establishing the identity of the defendant, Magas unexpectedly stated that he had not five, as stated in the case materials, but six children. The latter was born in 2010, when Taziev was already in Lefortovo. True, the defendant could not name the exact date of birth of the child.

Then, taking turns, three prosecutors read out the materials of the indictment prepared by the FSB investigative department. It was difficult to hear the prosecutors (only the judge had a microphone), so the journalists tried to move closer to the prosecutors' table, for which they received a warning from the bailiff. Magas, who was defended by two appointed lawyers (two more refused to participate in the case), at first checked the prosecution's presentation with his notes, but then lost interest in it.

As follows from the indictment, in the fall of 1999, former policeman Ali Taziev, while in Grozny, on his own initiative joined an armed formation consisting of 30 people. He acquired two passports in the names of Akhmed and Magomed Evloyev and took the call sign Magas. Over time, Magas became one of the closest associates of the leader of the North Caucasian militants, Doku Umarov, who entrusted him with overall command of the illegal armed formation (IAF) in Ingushetia. The main goal of his militants, the indictment said, was the separation of the North Caucasus from Russia with the aim of creating a state with a Sharia form of government on its territory. For this, Taziev was charged under Art. 208 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Organization of an illegal armed group and participation in it”) and Art. 279 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Armed rebellion").

In addition to numerous “attempts on law enforcement officers” (Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), Ali Taziev is also accused of “terrorism” (Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to investigators, it was he who organized the explosion of a regular bus at the bus station in Nevinnomyssk, Stavropol Territory in December 2007, as a result of which three people were killed and another 17 were injured, and also organized a suicide attack on the police department building in the Nazran district of Ingushetia in August 2009 year, leading to the death of 21 people and injuries to another 289.

On June 22 of the same 2009, Magas, according to the prosecution, led another suicide attempt on the life of the President of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. The head of the republic was seriously wounded, and two of his guards were killed. Taziev was charged for this under Art. 277 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Encroachment on the life of a statesman”). Magas was detained by FSB officers in June 2010. Once in the pre-trial detention center, he actively cooperated with the investigation, which made it possible to solve a number of serious crimes.

Answering Judge Volkov’s question whether he admits his guilt, Ali Taziev said that he admits, but only to “illegal arms trafficking” (Article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and “organization of illegal armed groups.” According to him, he has nothing to do with the other crimes. “As part of the criminal case, civil claims have been filed by 984 victims. Do you recognize their validity?” — the presiding officer then asked. “No, I don’t admit it,” came the short answer.

The total amount of the claims is unknown, but several victims expect to recover more than 1 million rubles from him.

After the subsequent announcement of the list of evidence and approval of the order of their consideration, Oleg Volkov asked whether witnesses were present at the meeting. As the prosecution explained, of the four witnesses summoned to court, only one came - Aksak Tangiev. The rest did not show up, citing family reasons.

As Mr. Tangiyev later explained to journalists, many witnesses are afraid of revenge from the militants. He came to the trial from Ingushetia for reasons of principle. “First, my sister’s husband, a police officer, died, and my sister died during the explosion at the Nazran police station. In my arms, I was left with her son, who is now 14 years old. I promised him that I would look this man in the eyes (Magas.— Kommersant ) and I’ll ask one question: ‘Why did you kill your compatriots?’” he said.

Tatyana Serbina, Rostov-on-Don

Magas took on the minimum