Ersmak Saraliyev

Moscow resident. Following the arrest of thirteen people in a hostel on suspicion of involvement in preparing the terrorist attack on the Kirgizia cinema, Saraliyev, who had previously also lived in the hostel, gave an interview to Kavkazskaya Politika in which he claimed their innocence and also appealed to various authorities. Saraliyev received threats, and on 8 December 2013 he was detained at his sister's flat and then arrested on the same charge - the investigation declared him the ideologist of the group.

Despite the fact that Saraliyev had moved out of the flat two months before the raid, an expert examination revealed the presence of explosives on his clothes and hair.

Human rights activists believe that there is no convincing evidence of his involvement in the crime; in their opinion, the persecution was part of a campaign to put pressure on Muslims.

On 22 April 2016, he was sentenced to eleven years in a strict regime colony. Presumably, he was released in early December 2024.