Bagaudin Khautiev, first of 40 detainees, charged for protests in Ingushetia

The Ingush activist Bagaudin Khautiev is the first to be officially accused under the case of using violence against law enforcers. Arrests of oppositionists are conducted in Ingushetia every day; over the past nine days, at least 40 activists were detained.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 27, rally participants continued their protest action in Magas without a sanction from the authorities. They stayed in a square in Magas for the night. On the other day, clashes occurred between the protesters and the law enforcers. According to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), ten law enforcers were injured.

On April 11, Bagaudin Khautiev, the head of the coordinating council of Ingush youth organizations, was officially charged under the criminal case of using violence against a power official, Aralbek Dumanishev, Bagaudin's advocate, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Khautiev was brought to an identification procedure, but out of 23 people, only one has recognized him. "And this person identified Khautiev on the positive side: he said that Bagaudin had urged people not to come into conflict with law enforcers, and persuaded them to disperse. Despite this, for some reason, his status was changed from a suspect to a defendant," said the advocate.

Arrests of activists in Ingushetia continue: on April 11, the Magas District Court arrested Bagaudin Gagiev, Magomed Sakalov and Khadjibikar Tariev for 10 days each, the "Kavkaz.Realii" has reported.

"On March 27, Bagaudin Gagiev urged people to disperse from the intersection on the federal highway. There are an audio recording, witnesses' testimonies and other proofs, but the judge rejected all the petitions," said Ismail Nalgiev, the head of the NGO "Ingushetia's Choice".

The "Caucasian Knot" has counted that over nine days, at least 40 activists were detained in Ingushetia.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 11, 2019 at 11:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.