Muslimat Kurbanova's defence treats verdict as excessively severe

The advocates and relatives of Muslimat Kurbanova, who returned home from Syria, intend to appeal against the verdict awarded to her, considering it too harsh. The court could have passed a more lenient sentence, if it had followed the new, not old, wording of the article, which provides for a softer punishment, an advocate for Muslimat Kurbanova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 12, Muslimat Kurbanova, who had voluntarily returned from the armed conflict area in Syria, was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment with a delay of serving the term, and released from the courtroom. The postponement will last until her child born in 2017 in Syria is 14 years old.

Her mother, Amatulla Kurbanova, hopes that the appealing against the verdict will help to soften the punishment.

"We intend to lodge an appeal to the Supreme Court asking to reduce [the prison term]," the mother told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.