The trial over the first group of defendants in Guba events

Today in Guba regional  court presided by  Zamin Tahirova held a preparatory meeting in the case of the first group of people accused  on  the  events in Guba on March 1 of this year.  Eight people were brought to trial: Farhad Abdurahmanov, Samir Hanmedov, Alkhas Danyalov, Samir Talibov, Matlab Dadashov, Sarvan Chobanov, Murad Zakirov and Sakhavat Aleskerov. All of them are ordinary citizens.

On  March 1  residents of Guba region people with  the  abuse of residents by  the former head of Guba region,  Rauf Khabibov, rallied in front of the district administration. People demanded the resignation  of Khabibov, the rally  turned into riots, during which Khabibov’s house  and nearby  administrative support buildings were burned.

Defendants are charged under the following  Articles of the Criminal Code: 186.2.2 (destruction or damage to another's property by arson, which led to grave consequences), 233 (organization of actions aimed at disturbing public order or active participation in them), and 315.1 (resistance to authority or the use of force against him.)

It is noteworthy that the last article was presented at the end of the preliminary investigation. This means that the maximum penalty may be increased from three to seven years. There are 25 victims in the case, including 23 police officers, a former head of the  region, and  regional administration itself.

The defendants denied the allegations. Their rights are protected by public lawyers. The defendants expressed dissatisfaction with the way of protecting their rights.

The judge did not allow photos and video at the preparatory trial. After the meeting, a judge scheduled the beginning of the trial for September 18.

Only on events in  Guba region  30 people were brought to justice.—03C06—