10:50, 29 December 2020

Rights defenders treat "Ingush case" as largest political persecution in modern Russia

A press conference held in the office of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG). Photo by Rustam Djalilov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The leaders of the Ingush protest movement, accused of creating an extremist community, have committed no crimes – they are prosecuted for their high authority among people, Sergey Davidis and Lev Ponomaryov, rights defenders, have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case of seven Ingush protest leaders is considered at court since November 24. On December 17, witnesses positively characterized the defendants and stated that they had not heard any calls for illegal actions from them.

The trial of the Ingush oppositionists is the largest politically motivated prosecution in Russia, Sergey Davidis, the head of the programme for the recognition of political prisoners at the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", believes. According to his story, at least 48 people have been prosecuted in total.

Lev Ponomaryov, the head of the movement "For Human Rights", believes that in Ingushetia, as in other regions of Russia, the police often become a source of violence at rallies.

The relative "softness" of the judge and the refusal of the prosecution witnesses to testify against the defendants indicate the groundlessness of the accusation, said Karina Moskalenko, a lawyer.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 28, 2020 at 10:18 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Rustam Djalilov

Source: CK correspondent