Circassians Come Out in Support of Jailed Ingush Opposition Leaders

Paul Goble

           

            Staunton, August 1 – Circassian women are circulating a petition calling for the liberation of Zarifa Sautiyeva, the Ingush curator and activist now (aheku.net/news/society/cherkeshenki-organizovali-sbor-podpisej), and Circassian activists have held a roundtable to focus attention on the fate of Ingush activists being held in Nalchik detention facilities (fortanga.org/2019/08/v-kbr-trevozhatsya-soderzhaniyu-arestovannyh-ingushskih-aktivistov-v-nalchike/).

            These actions are the clearest indication yet that what the authorities are doing against Ingush protesters has angered the Circassians and likely other non-Russians in the North Caucasus, something that suggests Manas and Moscow won’t be able to limit the damage to Ingushetia but will spark protests about their moves elsewhere.

            Meanwhile, the Kabardino-Balkar Supreme Court left in place the detention order against Sautiyeva despite her lawyer’s argument that the authorities had not presented any evidence of a crime and her own complaints of mistreatment in the detention center there (capost.media/news/society/verkhovnyy-sud-kabardino-balkarii-ostavil-pod-arestom-ingushskuyu-aktivistku-zarifu-sautievu/,  memohrc.org/ru/news_old/verhovnyy-sud-kbr-ostavil-ingushskuyu-aktivistku-sautievu-pod-arestom  and kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/338603/).

            And in another indication that the new head of Ingushetia is taking his cues from what Moscow is doing, the election commission in Karabulak ruled that Ruslan Mutsolgov had not collected enough valid signatures to be a candidate for the municipal council there. He says the commission’s ruling is in error and he will appeal (kavkazr.com/a/ne-sovsem-vybory-v-kalmykii-podderzhka-sautievoj-i-vospitanie-chechentsev/30087433.html).