Russian Supreme Court Orders New Trial for Ingush Activist

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 24 – The Russian Supreme Court has vacated the decisions of lower courts in Ingushetia which held that activist Anzhela Matiyeva, an activist, was legally dismissed from her position at a Rosneft daughter company for failing to show up and instead taking part in an anti-Yevkurov protest and ordered that the court of first instance in Magas retry the case.

            Matiyeva, her lawyer and her family and friends see this as a great victory and a triumph for justice.  She said she has always believed that if she pursued her case to the end, she would win because her dismissal was so clearly political and in violation of Russian law (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/348780/).

            Meanwhile, some in Ingushetia are alarmed that hundreds of people showed up for the funeral of three relatives of the Malgobek imam who died in an automobile accident. Some of those attending were wearing mosques, but many were not and were thus violating the anti-pandemic restrictions in place (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/348771/).

            The Kavkaz-Uzel news agency noted that the situation at the latest funerals was in sharp contrast to that at the burial of the former mufti of the republic two weeks ago. Then, the numbers of those in attendance was kept to a minimum, and everyone involved followed anti-pandemic restrictions.

            In other moves, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov urged more support of doctors (ingushetia.ru/news/makhmud_ali_kalimatov_vrachi_ingushetii_dolzhny_chuvstvovat_zashchishchennost_i_podderzhku_/) and reduced the length of the work day by one hour to fight unemployment as well as to limit the spread of the virus (ingushetia.ru/news/makhmud_ali_kalimatov_podpisal_rasporyazhenie_o_sokrashchenii_rabochego_dnya_na_odin_chas/).