Paul
Goble
Staunton, July 27 – In yet another indication
that the arrest of Zarifa Sautiyeva, a curator and activist, is turning Ingush
opinion sharply against the authorities in both Magas and Moscow, Khamzat
Chumakov, one of the most popular and influential imams in the republic, has
called on deputies and officials to work to free her (fortanga.org/2019/07/hamzat-chumakov-prizval-deputatov-pomoch-osvobodit-zarifu-sautievu/).
Not only is Sautiyeva the first
Ingush woman to be arrested during the crackdown, a violation of expectations
of how the authorities should act, but she is almost universally beloved in Ingush society because of her work to document the history of Stalin’s
deportation of the Ingush during World War II.
The powers that be have few good
options. If they continue to keep her behind bars, there almost certainly will
be mass protests even before most opposition figures are slated to be released
at the end of September; but if they don’t and decide to release her, many Ingush
will read this as a concession to their growing power and make additional
demands.
Meanwhile, immediately after his
release from 32 months of confinement for the illegal possession of weapons and
for insulting then Ingush head Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and after he declared he will
now continue the struggle for justice in his republic, Magomed Khazbiyev was
called in to the offices of the counter-extremism center “E” in Magas for “a
conversation,” an indication the authorities have no plans to let him off the
hook (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/338395/).
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