22:09, 1 August 2019

Circassian women-activists urge to release of Zarifa Sautieva

Kabardino-Balkaria residents in the courtroom. Photo by Lyudmila Maratova for the Caucasian Knot

Residents of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) have addressed the republic's Supreme Court (SC) in support of the arrested Ingush oppositionist, Zarifa Sautieva, and demanded her release.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 12, Zarifa Sautieva was detained, and since July 15, she has been kept under arrest in Nalchik. On July 20, the defence of Zarifa Sautieva filed a complaint about her arrest. Today, the SC of the KBR has upheld the decision to keep Zarifa Sautieva in custody.

Zarifa Sautieva, the deputy director of the Memorial complex to victims of repression in Nazran, took part in rallies against the change of the border with Chechnya. After the October protests, she claimed she had been dismissed for political reasons.

The appeal of Circassian women in support of Sautieva and other Ingush activists has been posted today by the "Adyge Kheku" organization. The text of the appeal was read out at the session of the SC.

An arrest is a too severe measure of freedom restriction for Ingush oppositionists; while keeping behind bars a young woman, "whose only guilt is taking part in protest events," causes "special indignation," says the appeal.

"It's a shame that in Northern Caucasus a woman was deprived of liberty for her civil position [...] We strongly disagree with the court decision and demand her immediate release. We also oppose the placement of Ingush activists into the Nalchik SIZO (pre-trial prison) and believe that such actions can lead to interethnic conflicts," the appeal states.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 1, 2019 at 06:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.