How the Magomedov brothers sat: they demanded a TV, treated their legs and eyes

A former member of the PMC spoke about her visits to the founders of the Summa group in a pre-trial detention center

On Thursday, a verdict was passed (37 years for two) to well-known businessmen, the Magomedov brothers, the founders of the Summa group. Ziyavudin Magomedov received 19 years in prison and 11 billion rubles fine, Magomed – 18 years and 2.5 million. Former member of the Public Monitoring Commission of Moscow, Eva Merkacheva, during the inspection of the conditions of detention of prisoners, repeatedly visited the pre-trial detention center where the Magomedovs were.

In connection with the verdict passed today, we considered it appropriate to recall the conditions in which the financiers spent the last 4.5 years (they were arrested in March 2018).

– The main and main problem that the Magomedovs faced behind bars was their growth. They are both 194 cm each. Therefore, ordinary bunk beds were small for them, at first they complained about this. But then, apparently, they didn’t care what kind of bed they had. Another problem arose – everyone was first placed in solitary confinement. This also made them nervous, but then both were placed with their neighbors.

– Did they feel normal behind bars?

– Not. Magomed Magomedov fell ill with a coronavirus and suffered this illness very hard. Moreover, he was sure that the investigator had infected him. Ziyavudin had a problem with his leg, apparently a sports injury. They tried to treat the leg, but not too successfully. Although the investigator eventually even allowed the visit of a doctor who specializes specifically in sports injuries.

– Did the brothers complain about domestic problems?

– Yes. For example, problems with the TV. They are both athletes, they love to watch sports broadcasts, and it was very important for them that the TV showed well. They especially liked to watch MMA fights. The Magomedovs were ready to endure even some other inconvenience, but watching sports was very important for them. So they changed several cameras before they found the ones with a normal signal.

– Did they read something in prison?

– Magomed had a huge number of books. And he read voraciously – literally everything: philosophers, historians. Moreover, he promised that later he would give all the books that he received from the outside to the prison library. But the lighting in the cell is artificial, so their eyesight began to deteriorate rather quickly. And to get the arrival of an ophthalmologist was also a problem.

Did you complain about your cellmates?

– It was like that. Magomed had a neighbor who smoked, but he himself does not smoke. Magomedov even tried to wean him from smoking, talked about the benefits of sports. But here is another problem – the cellmate did not speak and did not understand Russian.

Of course, they were indignant at their measure of restraint. Say, they have an economic crime, and they are sitting in a pre-trial detention center with murderers, terrorists, etc. In general, of course, they had a hard time enduring imprisonment. Many bans were wild for them – for example, for sports nutrition, for some other things.

Read about details of the criminal case against the Magomedov brothers.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 28924 dated December 2, 2022

Newspaper headline:
How the Magomedov brothers sat