Russia's Investigative Committee completed its investigation and handed over the main criminal case against the former mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov, and his nephew, the former Deputy Mayor of Kaspiysk, Yusuf Dzhaparov, to the Prosecutor General. There are new accusations of terrorism, Izvestia newspaper reports.
The criminal investigation was completed in September 2014, while Amirov, Dzhaparov and six accomplices were charged with the murder of the acting head of the Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee for Makhachkala's Sovestky district, Arsen Gadzhibekov, on December 14, 2011.
According to the newspaper, Amirov and other defendants are charged under Article 205 of the Criminal Code [terrorism]. The charges mention the shelling of the cultural and entertainment center 'Moscow' in Kaspiysk. On the evening of April 2, 2011, an unknown assailant shot with a Bumblebee grenade launcher in the direction of the center. Then a criminal case was instituted under the article concerning hooliganism, but now investigators believe that it was a terrorist attack, ordered by the mayor of Makhachkala, the newspaper reports.
His lawyers confirmed the information about the new allegations, noting that Amirov does not admit his guilt. "Said Amirov has nothing to do with these crimes. The investigation has not provided us with any motives," Izvestia cited the lawyer Vladimir Postanyuk.
According to Amirov's defense, as a consequence of the addition of an episode of terrorism to the case, it wilk be considered by professional judges rather than a jury. If the case is approved by the prosecutor's office, the ex-mayor and other defendants will be judged in the North Caucasus military district court in Rostov.
