Behruz Ganiev

In 2018, law enforcement agencies of the city of Lyantor conducted "raids" against Muslims. The security forces intimidated the abductees and their relatives, threatening them with unlawful prosecution if complaints were filed against these illegal actions of law enforcement officials. Nevertheless, a number of local Muslims were involved in publicising the violation of Muslim rights and filing complaints with the prosecutor's office and the regional Investigative Committee. The threats of the law enforcement officials were apparently realised in the form of criminal prosecution of Mr. Ganiev and two other Muslims, Artem Vatry and Gamid Dataev.

Mr. Ganeyev was accused of being a member of a terrorist group, planning to blow up social institutions in Lyantor, and killing employees of the local mosque, as well as possessing weapons and explosives.

Mr. Ganeyev was detained on 1 April 2020. The video recording of Mr. Ganeyev's "detention" available in the case file and provided by the defence shows that it was excessively violent, resembling an assault and forced abduction. The abductors were in civilian clothes, and they placed Mr. Ganeyev in a civilian car and drove him away. It is alleged that during Mr. Ganeyev's detention, a pistol and four cartridges were found on him, and the next day during a search of Mr. Ganeyev's residence, two more cartridges were discovered. Mr. Ganeyev himself claims that the pistol was put into his hand following his detention and then placed in the pocket of his jacket. The pocket was shallow and with a broken zipper, which is why, later, when Mr. Ganeyev was placed in a pre-trial detention center, his jacket disappeared. He believes that the security forces did not want to submit it for examination, the results of which could confirm his testimony. After his lawyer's complaint about the disappearance of material evidence, the pre-trial detention center staff threatened Mr. Ganeyev to write a false statement that he had thrown away the jacket himself while in the temporary detention facility because it was unusable.

After the alleged discovery of the pistol during Mr. Ganeyev's detention, he was taken to the staircase where an official search was conducted, during which he stated that the pistol and cartridges did not belong to him. After the search protocol was drawn up, Mr. Ganeyev was beaten and threatened with murder on the way to the police station. Then, at the police station, he was interrogated with the use of torture and beaten in a manner leaving no traces. In the presence of the head of the local Center for Combatting Extremism (CCE), he was being forced to give false testimony that the pistol belonged to him and that Artem Vatry and Gamid Dataev were planning terrorist acts in the city. Mr. Ganeyev refused to do so.

In May 2020, an officer visited Mr. Ganeyev in the temporary detention facility, demanding, with threats, that he incriminate himself for weapon possession and testify against Mr. Dataev and Mr. Vatry. Mr. Ganeyev again refused. Similar demands for confessions were made in late November.

Initially, Mr. Ganeyev was charged with possession of weapons and explosive devices. In December 2020, he was additionally charged with involvement in a terrorist organisation.

The verdict was pronounced on 1 March 2024, but the details are unknown.