HRC "Memorial" recognizes Bagavudin Omarov as a political prisoner

Bagavudin Omarov, a native of Makhachkala, was unfoundedly accused of involvement in the "At-Takfir wal-Hijra"*, states the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". The human right defenders urged the authorities to release Bagavudin Omarov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Bagavudin Omarov, a 47-year-old native of Makhachkala, was detained in November 2018. Out of the people detained together with him, six became defendants in a case against a unit of the international extremist religious organization "At-Takfir wal-Hijra"*, banned in Russia.

The HRC "Memorial" recognized Bagavudin Omarov as a political prisoner, the HRC's press service reported. "We demand to release Bagavudin Omarov and to stop the persecution of alleged supporters of the 'At-Takfir wal-Hijra'* under anti-extremist articles," declares the statement posted on the website of the HRC "Memorial" today.

According to the human rights defenders, Bagavudin Omarov has been accused of being a member of the organization "of which it is only known for certain that it existed in Egypt in the 1970s of the last century." "The criminal case contains no objective evidence of the existence of the organization's unit, except for the indication to the fact that believers were reading and discussing books together. The 'participants' had no plans and no contacts with the alleged international organization. There are no proven facts of receiving money, etc. [...] Therefore, investigators draw a conclusion about the Bagavudin Omarov's involvement in the 'At-Takfir wal-Hijra'* on the basis of indirect evidence only," the HRC "Memorial" reported.

* "At-Takfir wal-Hijra" is an extremist organization, banned in Russia by the decision of the Supreme Court

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 28, 2020 at 01:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.