Russian court acquits Ukrainian war veteran accused of killing fellow soldier
Kyiv • UNN
A Russian court acquitted Zaindi Takayev, a Chechen contract soldier accused of killing his fellow soldier Magomed Shakhbanov in Pervomaisk, Ukraine. The decision, which is considered the first known acquittal of a participant in the Ukrainian conflict, is being appealed.
The Novocherkassk garrison military court has acquitted a Chechen contractor Zaindi Takayev, who was accused of killing his fellow soldier Magomed Shakhbanov in the self-proclaimed LPR, Kommersant newspaper reported, UNN reports.
Details
Takayev was acquitted by the jury, which unanimously decided that he was innocent. Subsequently, the judge released him from custody and granted the military the right to rehabilitation. The prosecutor's office and the victim's representatives filed an appeal against the decision with the Southern District Military Court.
Takayev was accused of the murder of 20-year-old Dagestan native Magomed Shakhbanov, committed on June 6, 2022, in the courtyard of a multi-storey residential building in Pervomaisk (the city has been controlled by the LPR since 2014).
According to the investigation, Takayev shot Shakhbanov in the head with a pistol while they were drinking in a gazebo. This was confirmed by two local women who were vacationing with the military. The young women said that Takayev shot Shakhbanov at close range. At the same time, other servicemen claimed that Takayev and Shakhban had no reason to be hostile. Takayev said that the gazebo was shot at from the neighboring bushes.
"Kommersant suggested that the jury's decision could have been influenced by contradictions and inconsistencies in the case file. For example, the defendant claimed that he did not hold a gun. Another soldier, who was carrying a gun, said he had not parted with it. The forensic examination considered the biological traces left on the gun's handle "contradictory" and was unable to establish the genetic profile of the person who held the weapon.
The expert concluded that Shakhbanov was shot from a "short distance" and was struck by a "wounded projectile with a diameter of eight millimeters," which did not correspond to the version of shooting from a nine-millimeter caliber weapon presented by witnesses. The bullet that killed contractor Shakhbanov was never found.
In their appeal, representatives of the victim and the prosecutor's office pointed to procedural violations committed in the garrison court. The authors of the complaint stated that the jury could have unanimously acquitted the defendant because of the pressure exerted on them.
Both of Zaindi Takayev's lawyers said that they were satisfied with the court's decision, but that they should wait until it comes into force. They declined to comment further.
According to Kommersant, this is the first known acquittal of a participant in the war in Ukraine.
