Complaint about violation of Zarifa Sautieva's rights filed to ECtHR

Zarifa Sautieva, a participant of a rally in Magas, was subjected to inhuman treatment, and she was arrested by political motives, lawyers of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" stated in a complaint filed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Zarifa Sautieva has been under arrest since July 2019. The activist is accused of organizing violence against law enforcers at the rally in Magas on March 27, 2019. On January 16, Zarifa Sautieva and other Ingush activists were charged with participation in an extremist community.

The HRC "Memorial" filed a complaint to the ECtHR in the interests of Zarifa Sautieva, the former deputy director of the "Memorial Complex to Victims of Repression". In the complaint, the lawyers of the HRC "Memorial" claimed a violation of three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the article on prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment, the article on the right to liberty and security of person, and the article on limitation on use of restriction on rights, reports the HRC "Memorial" in its message posted on its website today.

Like other defendants arrested in the case on the rally in Magas, Zarifa Sautieva is prosecuted for political reasons, human rights defenders suggest. "The activist was arrested so that she could not continue her activities as one of the leaders of the opposition movement in Ingushetia. Besides, her arrest is also aimed to liquidate in principle the opposition movement in the republic," said Tatiana Glushkova, a lawyer of the HRC "Memorial".

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 6, 2020 at 05:08 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.