Prolonged joy in Putin’s Russia is clearly not a privilege for Muslims. They barely had time to rejoice at the release of the elderly, ailing Imam Mahmud Velitov when, literally a few days later, a man who had fought for him all these years, lawyer Dagir Khasavov, was arrested. Khasavov was arrested right inside the Lefortovo Court building in Moscow and charged with «obstruction of justice» under Article 294.1 of the Russian Criminal Code and «bribery or coercion to give false testimony or to evade testifying» under Article 309.4 of the Russian Criminal Code. These crimes allegedly took place while he was handling the case of the former prime minister of Dagestan, Abdusamad Gamidov. However, few experts believe that an experienced lawyer like Khasavov, who was handling such a high-profile case against a powerful law enforcement machine, would resort to such actions. Therefore, there is no doubt that Khasavov fell victim to revenge for actively defending the interests of Islam and Muslims in Putin’s Russia.
It is worth noting that recently, in addition to the case of Mahmud Velitov, lawyer Khasavov also represented and defended the interests of the Muslim community in Kaliningrad. After the local authorities demolished a mosque, he openly stated that there is a struggle against Islam, not only in the whole country, but specifically against Russians who convert to Islam. Of course, in today’s reality, such actions and statements cannot remain without consequences. «If there is a person, there will be an article,» and they found it for Khasavov. From our point of view, this case should be included in the sad «Silantyev list» — a list of repressions against representatives of the Islamic community in Russia, carried out as part of an unofficial program against Islam.
The photo shows Dagir Khasavov and Mahmud Velitov.