Russian Courts Again Extend Sentences of Three Ingush Protest Leaders

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 19 – The Stavropol Kray court extended the detention of Bagaudin Khautiyev to September 22 and Akhmed Barakhoyev to September 25, and the Essentuki city court extended the period under arrest for Zarifa Sautiyeva until July 11 (fortanga.org/2020/06/sud-prodlil-arest-bagaudina-hautieva-eshhyo-na-tri-mesyatsa/,

fortanga.org/2020/06/ahmedu-barahoevu-prodlili-arest-do-25-sentyabrya/ and fortanga.org/2020/06/zarifa-sautieva-ostanetsya-pod-strazhej-do-21-iyulya/).

            The first two Ingush protest leaders have already been under arrest for more than a year, and Sautiyeva, the only woman in their number and someone who has been identified as a political prisoner by Memorial, will mark her first anniversary in jail in just over two weeks. She is likely to see her detention extended yet again.

            Lawyers for each of the Ingush activists said that prosecutors provided no basis for the extensions other than those they have offered on earlier occasions, saying only that they needed more time to acquaint defendants with the enormous number of documents in each of their cases. The judges agreed, yet another indication that these are political not judicial actions.

            Ingush officials keep talking about the great level of participation they are organizing for the July 1 referendum, but ever more activists are suggesting that Magas will not be able to deliver honestly because ever more teip leaders are calling on their members to boycott the vote. The latest is the Leima teip (6portal.ru/posts/ингушские-тейпы-возобновили-умный-б/).

            The Leima family group said there are many reasons that Ingush should not vote for the proposed amendments and even more not to take part in this farce, the most important of which is that the amendments represent “a threat to the statehood of the national republics of the Russian Federation.” Non-Russians must show they oppose this by not participating.

            Meanwhile, in a welcome development, Ingush prosecutors say they will be bringing charges of torture against the relatives of seven-year-old Aisha Azhigova who had to have her hand amputated as a result (capost.media/news/obshchestvo/in-ingushetia-will-judge-the-torturers-of-little-aisha/).