On May 2, 2017, the Ingushetia Supreme Court planned to review the sentence in the case of the abduction of local woman Yelizaveta Aliyeva.
To recap, on February 20, 2017, the Magas District Court in Ingushetia sentenced Mukharbek Yevloyev to 6 years in a high security prison colony and a fine of 80,000 roubles for abducting Yelizaveta Aliyeva, his wife’s sister. Murad Paragulgov, his accomplice in the crime, was sentenced to 5 years in a high security prison colony and a fine of 50,000 roubles. The court rejected Aliyeva’s civil law complaint. Search warrants are still out for four relatives of the accused who also took part in the abduction.
“I have heard that there are plans to overturn or soften the sentence”, said lawyer Vitaly Zubenko, who works with Justice Initiative. “The Ingushetia Supreme Court hearing is set for 10am on May 2, 2017. What’s more, I asked the Federal Corrections Service where and in what circumstances the accused Mukharbek Yevloyev is being held, but have received no response. Local people say that although he was sentenced to prison and taken into custody in the court room, he was in a civilian hospital and was later allowed to go home. People have seen him. I am now checking out this information”.
The investigation report states that Mukharbek Yevloyev abducted Yelizaveta Aliyeva from her home on July 9, 2015. He was looking for Aliyeva’s sister, Marem. Together with five armed men, he broke into Yelizaveta Aliyeva’s house, demanding to know where his wife was. Aliyeva and her husband were bundled into a car and driven towards the city dump in Nazran. Neighbours called the police and this saved Aliyeva, as she was able to escape from the car when the abductors stopped to hide from the police patrol.
When the sentence was handed down, Yelizaveta Aliyeva declared it too mild. Mukharbek Yevloyev and Murad Paragulgov did not recognise their guilt and made no attempt to make amends. During the investigation, they put pressure on Yelizaveta and threatened her children.
Lawyers from Justice Initiative have already sent to the ECHR an application on behalf of Yelizaveta Aliyeva, citing violations of articles 2, 3, and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
At present, the court hearing set for May 2, 2017, has been postponed because the Ingushetia Supreme Court failed to provide in good time to the plaintiff documents for examination.