The Soviet District Court of Makhachkala has decided to continue the detention of Islamic journalist and educator Abdulmumin Gadzhiev, who was arrested the day before on the basis of testimony apparently coerced from Moscow businessman Kemal Tambiev. However, after the public became aware of Tambiev’s appearance with bruises under his eyes and his and his lawyer’s words that he incriminated Gadzhiev under torture, the prosecution requested and the court decided to hold today’s session on the case behind closed doors. Outside the walls of the court, solitary pickets and spontaneous gatherings in support of Gadzhiev took place. According to eyewitnesses, solidarity with the respected public figure was expressed not only by those who came to support him, but also by drivers of passing cars and even individual police officers, who in informal conversations wished Gadzhiev’s defenders success.
It should also be noted that although the reaction of the media and the public to the cases of Moscow journalist Ivan Golunov and similar cases of Gadzhiev and Tambiev remains uneven, the latest cases are also being covered by major non-Caucasian and non-Muslim mass media. In particular, major opposition or near-opposition media such as Radio Liberty, BBC News Russian Service, Novaya Gazeta, Mediazona, After Empire, and Moskovsky Komsomolets have reported on Gadzhiev’s case.
This gives hope that the issue of repression against Muslim public figures is beginning to be included in the information and political agenda of Russian civil society. This makes it all the more urgent for its Muslim segment to formulate and voice its political demands and goals.