02 April 2020, 21:33
Two participants of Magas rally left in detention
In Nalchik, the court has extended the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of detention until June 15 to Ingush activists Amirkhan Bekov and Isropil Nalgiev. No investigative actions involving the defendants are being carried out because of the quarantine regime, an advocate reports.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 4, Isropil Nalgiev and Amirkhan Bekov were detained and taken to Nalchik together with three other activists. On the other day, they were taken into custody until April 3 on suspicion of the use of violence against a public officer. The defence did not succeed in challenging the court's decision about the defendants' arrest. According to the advocate, the case materials, submitted to the court, contained a general statement that the detainees "used violence," but "no videos, photos, testimonies of witnesses, or testimonies of victims were presented."
On March 26, 2019, opponents of the Chechen-Ingush border agreement, who also succeeded in seeking the resignation of Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov, did not leave the square after the sanctioned rally in Magas. When the police tried to disperse them, clashes occurred between the protestors and law enforcers. Since early April 2019, mass arrests of activists took place in the republic, and at least 29 people were involved in criminal cases as defendants.
On March 24 and 26, the Nalchik City Court held court hearings on extending the pre-trial restriction measure to Amirkhan Bekov and Isropil Nalgiev, advocate Khusen Guliev has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent today.
"On March 24, the court pronounced a decision in respect of Amirkhan Bekov, and on March 26 ‑ in respect of Isropil Nalgiev. The court extended to both of them the pre-trial restriction measure in the form of detention in custody until June 15. Like earlier, investigators did not submit to the court any specific charges against Amirkhan Bekov and Isropil Nalgiev. The court did not take into account the defence's arguments concerning the groundlessness of the investigators' statements that Amirkhan Bekov and Isropil Nalgiev could avoid the investigation. The both defendants plead not guilty," Khusen Guliev said.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 2, 2020 at 07:52 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Asya Kapaeva Source: CK correspondent