Minsk, Supporting Repression in Ingushetia, Hands Nalgiyev Over to Russians

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 10 – Today, without a court hearing or allowing Ismail Nalgiyev, the head of the Ingush Choice movement, access to lawyers, the Belarusian migration service drove the Ingush activist to the Belarusian-Russian border and handed him over to the Russian police, an action that shows Minsk “supports the repressions in Ingushetia,” activists say.

            Belarusian attorneys say that the authorities acted in violation of the rules governing the migration service and laws about handling extradition cases.  They say that under existing rules in Belarus, no one can be processed in this way, especially over a holiday weekend, when access to legal advice and the courts is necessarily limited.

            In reporting this, Ingush blogger Magomed Mutsopolgov notes that it is now “perfectly clear that participants and leaders of the peaceful popular protest in Ingushetia haave become victims of repressions organized by the head of the Republic Ingushetia with the permission of the Kremlin against his own people” (zamanho.com/?p=7583).

            “From the very beginning, the people of Ingushetia has shown its unity in insisting on its rights and lawful internets by only peaceful protest actions. Repressions and the conduct of a major military operation against the people of Ingushetia by itself shows who has been interested in disorders,” the blogger says.

            And then he concludes with words that some may find ominous: “In this world, there is nothing eternal, and as we know, times change” and people change in response to what is done to them. 

            The mistreatment of Nalgiyev in Belarus has received far more treatment in the Moscow media than have the demonstrations in the past (e.g., znak.com/2019-05-10/iz_belorussii_prinuditelno_deportiruyut_blogera_osvechavshego_protesty_v_ingushetii and novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/05/10/151553-uchastnika-protestov-v-ingushetii-vyslali-v-rossiyu-po-resheniyu-belorusskih-silovikov).

            The case has also attracted the attention of Belarusian opposition outlets (belaruspartisan.by/politic/463330/  and charter97.org/ru/news/2019/5/9/333530/), and it has enraged North Caucasian outlets as well (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/335300/, caucasustimes.com/ru/srochno-ismaila-nalgieva-vyslali-v-rossiju/  and fortanga.org/2019/05/ismaila-nalgieva-resheno-deportirovat-iz-belarusi/).

            All this raises two possibilities. On the one hand, the case and the blatant illegality with which it was handled may attract more support from beyond Ingushetia to the Ingush opposition, something its members have long sought but have been confronted by a virtual media blackout on their activities.

            And on the other, faced with yet another action showing that Moscow (and its people in Minsk) are as much to blame for mistreating the Ingush, some in the opposition may now be willing to adopt more radical steps in response. Thus, the events in Minsk may matter far more in Magas than anyone now imagines.