Russian Prisons have Become Breeding Ground of Islamist Terrorists in Russia, Kochegin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Aug. 24 – Recent risings in Russian prisons show that these penal institutions have become important breeding grounds of Islamist terrorism, given that none of those who have risen in the name of the Islamic State had done so before being incarcerated, according to Yevgeny Kochegin.

            The former inmate and now prisoner rights activist says that this is the result of two reinforcing trends: increasing repression of all Muslim prisoners and increasing corruption among jailors (kavkazr.com/a/polozhenie-osuzhdennyh-musuljman-teperj-stanet-huzhe-zahvat-zalozhnikov-v-volgogradskoy-kolonii-/33092769.html).

            Mistreatment of Muslims makes credible the arguments of Islamist activists that the Russian state is hostile to Islam, Kochegin suggests; and corruption means that prisoners can easily get cellphones that give them direct access to these messages from outside the prison walls.

            Unfortunately, he continues, the response of the jailors has not been to improve conditions for Muslims or crackdown on corruption among the employees of the prison system but rather to intensify repression against Muslims while allowing corruption to continue to flourish.

            As a result, he and other prisoner rights activists say, the number of prisoners who become Islamists as a result of their incarcerations is certain to rise, the number of prison revolts led by them to increase, and the number of Islamists outside prison walls to grow when some of these prisoners are ultimately released.