Rizvanov accused of financing terrorism tells court about working with Abu Umar Sasitlinsky

Abubakar Rizvanov, the head of the "Ansar" Fund, who is accused, along with Abdulmumin Gadjiev and Kemal Tambiev, of financing terrorism, has stated during interrogation that he became a co-founder of the Fund at the suggestion of the preacher, Abu Umar Sasitlinsky, but only formally participated in the activities of the "Ansar".

According to the "Memorial" Centre for Defence of Human Rights, Rizvanov told how he met Israil Akhmednabiev, who is charged with organizing the terrorism financing.

According to Rizvanov, Akhmednabiev was raising money for the construction of a school for hafizes. In 2013, the preacher registered the "Ansar" Charity Fund in order to make the fundraising more transparent. Rizvanov and Aliev were offered to become co-founders thereof, and they agreed, because they "wanted to participate in a charitable business," and saw nothing illegal in this. The main aim of the Fund was to pay for orphans' schooling.

According to Rizvanov, after the creation of the Fund, Aliev and Akhmednabiev returned from a charitable trip to Syria, and an employee of the Centre for Combating Extremism (Centre "E") had a meeting with them. Then, law enforcers had no claims to the activities of the Fund, the defendant has added.

Let us remind you that Gadjiev's colleagues treat the criminal case against him as political and are regularly holding pickets in Makhachkala in his support. Thus, on October 31, the pickets were held by Magomed Magomedov, a deputy editor-in-chief of the "Chernovik" weekly, and Idris Yusupov, a journalist for the "Novoye Delo" outlet.