Ingush Police Say Relatives Responsible for Wounding Seven-Year-Old Girl

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 6 – The case of seven-year-old Aisha Azhigova, an Ingush girl whose injuries required her to be medically evacuated to Moscow, continues to attract attention not only in Ingushetia but across Russia. Initially, many Ingush were inclined to blame the police; now the police say relatives of the girl are responsible for her serious wounds.

            Leonid Roshal, the lead surgeon who has examined her in Moscow, says that many of her wounds were old, thus raising the question as to whether she had been subject to abuse over a significant period of time. If so, that could mean that the police were not responsible or at least were not the only ones (doshdu.com/2019/07/06/в-москве-рассказали-о-старых-травмах-и/).

            Following the doctor’s findings, police in Ingushetia arrested a 35-year-old Sunzha woman, accusing her of abusing the girl and putting two of the woman’s other minor relatives into protective custody lest they be subject to abuse (interfax.ru/russia/668059 and znak.com/2019-07-06/v_ingushetii_po_podozreniyu_v_izbienii_semiletney_devochki_zaderzhana_ee_tetya).

            The Ingush woman now under arrest has denied her guilt; the girl remains in serious but stable condition.

            Meanwhile, Ingush courts gave mixed signals as to whether there has been a change in their direction following the replacement of Yunus-Bek Yevkurov by Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov. One reaffirmed the legality of a search many viewed as illegal (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337526/), while republic supreme court confirmed a not guilty finding (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/337520/).