Family Members of Ingush Activists Now in Jail Appeal to Kalimatov for Their Release

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 11 – The wives and mothers of the more than 30 Ingush protesters now behind bars, calling themselves the Patriotic Union of the Women of Ingushetia, have sent an open letter to new republic head Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov  asking that he facilitate the release of their relatives (doshdu.com/2019/07/11/жены-и-матери-арестованных-ингушских/).

            Meanwhile, lawyers for many of those incarcerated also called for the authorities to drop all charges because of the absence of any evidence that their clients had violated the law (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337695/), and a group of demonstrators in St. Petersburg made similar demands (doshdu.com/2019/07/11/в-петербурге-провели-пикеты-в-защиту-а/).

            There are signs that Kalimatov is beginning to clean house. On the one hand, the first deputy head of the Ingush government Baraudin Ozdoyev (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337731/). And on the other, republic officials announced that nine local deputies were going to be dismissed because they had not accurately reported their incomes (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337704/).

            The incoming republic head also announced that he was going to launch a drive to ensure that Ingush have clean and reliable supplies of potable water (zamanho.com/?p=10441) and an effort to find republic architects who could develop a common national style for buildings in Ingushetia (erdune.com/post/735-kalimatov-predlozhil-nanimat-arhitektorov-nado-li).

            And in Moscow, doctors reported that the Ingush girl who was the victim of torture was beginning to improve and would likely make a more or less full recovery (versia.ru/vrachi-soobshhili-ob-uluchshenii-sostoyaniya-izbitoj-v-ingushetii-devochki).