Mameshev: I spoke with Mahamedrasulov twice about Uzbekistan, Dagestan was never mentioned (updated)
A witness in the case of NABU detective Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, Yusup Mameshev, stated that in the conversation cited by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), they were talking about Uzbekistan.
He stated this during a hearing in the Pecherskyi District Court, Censor.NET reports.
"I told Ruslan once or twice that I have friends in Uzbekistan. The conversation began with the fact that in childhood, I met Ruslan’s father in Central Asia, in Turkmenistan, at that time, part of the USSR," Mameshev said.
The witness added that he had been to Uzbekistan for friends’ weddings.
"Regarding this, Ruslan asked me to help him in my free time, if possible, to ask my Uzbek friends whether they might be interested in industrial hemp seeds. So I did. I called my friend and asked him, but I had never seen those seeds in my life — I didn’t even know what they were. My friend in Uzbekistan responded the same way: ‘What is this, and what’s it for?’ He (my friend - Ed.) told me that he was not interested. Besides, even if someone wanted to, how could anything even be shipped there from Ukraine now? What logistics? I don’t know. I have no business either in Uzbekistan or in Dagestan. So that was the end of the conversation. We never returned to that topic again," Mameshev concluded.
During the court hearing, under oath, witness Mameshev reported yet another instance of pressure being exerted on him.
Right outside the courthouse, he was served with several new summonses for interrogation by the SSU in a new case.
Moreover, investigators from the SSU have already questioned him three times in connection with the same case.
The new proceedings were opened by the Security Service yesterday, October 16, just one day before today’s court session. The nature of the new case remains unknown.
During the hearing, while Mameshev was being questioned, prosecutors asked him questions unrelated to the substance of the case.
Background
Earlier, media outlets reported that Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, head of NABU’s interregional detective office who was detained by the SSU, was one of the key officials involved in documenting the activities of businessman and Kvartal 95 co-owner Tymur Mindich.
The SSU stated that one of the heads of NABU’s interregional detective offices, Ruslan Mahamedrasulov, was exposed for doing business with Russia.
Later, the Security Service of Ukraine denied that the detention and arrest of NABU officer Ruslan Mahamedrasulov were politically motivated.
On September 16, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation announced a new suspicion against one of the heads of the NABU's interregional detective departments, who is currently in custody on suspicion of aiding the aggressor state.
On September 23, the court remanded the NABU detective in custody.
On October 15, the court extended the pretrial investigation period by six months.
