Trial

Yesterday, a jury in Pyatigorsk delivered a verdict of guilt for three residents of the KChR—Khyzyr Salpagarov, Ramazan Gochiyayev, and Eduard Kharatokov—for terrorism, as well as an attempt to organize a coup d'état. The defendants themselves claimed that all these crimes were organized by the well-known terrorist Achimez Gochiyayev, whom the FSB and police did not even try to catch.

From the morning, small groups of relatives of the defendants stood near the court building and quietly expressed indignation that they were again not allowed into the hearings. At the same time, they quoted the words of the state prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko, who allegedly called on the jurors to find the defendants guilty "for the sake of their own safety," since no one is insured against the fact that, upon being released, those sitting on the defendants' bench would not take up the organization of further terrorist attacks.

"And why didn't they catch Achimez (wanted for organizing the bombings of residential buildings in Moscow and Volgodonsk — [Kommersant]) when he was jumping like a mountain goat across Karachay-Cherkessia?" the sister of defendant Kharatokov said with irritation.

"I didn't know that Lenin had heirs of Caucasian nationality to overthrow the government here," his mother added.

The debates lasted a little over two hours. State prosecutor Kravchenko tried to draw the jurors' attention to the fact that the defendants, under the leadership of Achimez Gochiyayev, participated in the organization of terrorist attacks on September 9, 2000, at the Nizhny market in Stavropol and on December 8 of the same year at the market in Pyatigorsk. In total, the three defendants are charged with 11 episodes of criminal activity, including:

• Creation of a criminal community
• Participation in illegal armed formations
• Preparation for a violent seizure of power
• Calling for an armed mutiny
• Terrorism
• Intentional murders
• And more

The prosecution considered the guilt of the defendants in these episodes fully proven. The defense did not. Lawyers claimed that the prosecution was built on the testimony of the defendants themselves, and they gave testimony under duress.

At the end of the debates, the final word was given to Khyzyr Salpagarov. Of the "trio of imams," he turned out to be the leader. Salpagarov spoke for about half an hour and, as even representatives of the prosecutor's office admitted, was emotional and very convincing—in short, he justified his title of amir, that is, a preacher. Several times he declared his innocence and that he was ready to cooperate with the investigation in terms of catching Achimez Gochiyayev. But, as it seemed to him, the law enforcement agencies did not show much interest. The final word of Eduard Kharatokov was not as eloquent as his predecessor's and was short. Addressing mainly the side where the four representatives of the prosecution sat, he stated that he knew nothing about any payments on the basis of which explosive devices were assembled, and pointed out that the investigation had some dates that did not match, in particular, regarding the rental of apartment No. 46 in the settlement of Moskovsky, where weapons were stored.

"I am the same citizen of Russia as all of you," declared the youngest of the imams, Kharatokov, "and I consider those FSB officers who... [cut off]"

Trial Summary

• The attacks were allowed because they knew Achimez Gochiyayev was walking in the mountains, but they did not catch him.
• The defendant Kharatokov stated that he was taken to the forest, tied to a tree near a freshly dug hole, and was promised he would be left there if he did not sign all the offered papers.
• Ramazan Gochiyayev, a namesake of Achimez Gochiyayev, was the last to speak.

Ramazan Gochiyayev's Statement

• "The prosecution tried so hard to accuse us," he began. "They said that everything started for us back in 1997, that we allegedly called on the people to overthrow the government. And where were you looking all these years? After all, I only visited the mosque three times, and the FSB already knew about it."
• He further stated that he learned about Achimez Gochiyayev's appearance in Karachay-Cherkessia from the media, while law enforcement agencies did not even consider taking any action.
• The imam of the Storozhevaya village concluded that he expected nothing from the jury trial and agreed to it only because he wanted as many ordinary people as possible to know the truth—that they were being tried for someone else's sins.

Conclusion of the Trial

• Upon completion of the defendants' "final word," Judge Alexander Polivanov delivered a parting speech and explained the procedure for filling out the questionnaire to the jury.
• There were over a hundred questions, and the discussion was unusually stormy.
• Since there was no complete agreement on any single point, a vote was held on all issues.
• Despite the disagreements, all three defendants were found guilty on all counts of the charges by an overwhelming majority of the jurors' votes.
• The sentence for the Wahhabis will be handed down next week.

ALEKSANDRA LARINTSEVA, Pyatigorsk