Born: 1988;

Place of Birth: Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia;

Gender: Male;

Nationality: Russian;

General Info:
Ruslan Kasheshov is a 32-year-old Russian businessperson, who is sentenced to 11 years in prison for aiding and financing Islamic State terror activities, as well as on drugs and weapons charges.

The court in Rostov-on-Don found that Kasheshov, a resident of Kabardino-Balkaria, had transferred ₽8,000 ($130) to a member of the group.

At a hearing on 27 December, the state prosecutor stated that in 2015 Kasheshov transferred ₽8,000 ($130) to Yuriy Bitsuyev, ‘a member of the Islamic State’, and thereby financed an illegal armed group.

The prosecution claimed that in the same year, Kesheshov received drugs and a grenade from Bitsuyev and agreed to cooperate with them. Bitsuyev was killed in a special operation in November 2015.

In July 2019, Memorial suggested that testimony from a ‘secret witness’ that formed the basis for the authorities’ claims that Kasheshov was a member of an illegal armed group was perjured.

The witness, who claimed to be a friend of Kasheshov’s, said Kasheshov had told him that he helped militants by transporting them and supplying them with money and then attempted to recruit him.

He said that the ‘secret witness’ testified during the investigation that he met Kasheshov in 2014-2015 in a sushi bar owned by Kasheshov in Nalchik called Tokyo.

According to Atabiyev, the inspection protocol of Kasheshov’s car, which was signed by five witnesses, said that a grenade was found under the passenger’s seat in a man’s purse.