Human rights defenders argue about importance of pacifist pickets for residents of Kabardino-Balkaria

Activist Pavel Ulibegov was released after being arrested for failure to obey law enforcers at a solo picket. Pacifist actions help residents of Kabardino-Balkaria to reconsider their attitude towards the special military operation, human rights defender Valery Khatazhukov points out. Solo pickets are not capable of changing the views of residents of the republic, his colleague Zaur Shokuev argues.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on March 8, Pavel Ulibegov went to a picket in front of the parliament building of Kabardino-Balkaria with a pacifist poster in his hands. The police drew up protocols on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and failure to obey the police. Under the second article, the court arrested the activist for five days.

According to 29-year-old Pavel Ulibegov, on March 8, he came out to the picket with a poster containing a two-word pacifist appeal. After his detention, the activist refused to testify to the law enforcers. “They interrogated me for three hours, but I used my right to remain silent. They came to my house while I was at the police department and scared my father ... They visited my mother at work to intimidate her with dismissal,” Pavel Ulibegov reported.

The purpose of his protest action was “to show that what was happening was not good,” Pavel Ulibegov added. “I am not a member of any political party or any social movement. I’m just an activist. I participated in protests until February 24,” the activist said.

Valery Khatazhukov, the chair of the Kabardino-Balkarian Regional Human Rights Centre, said that he had not heard about the Pavel Ulibegov’s protest action, but considered it important.

On the contrary, Zaur Shokuev, a lawyer for the Kabardino-Balkarian Regional Human Rights Centre, believes that such protest actions will not lead to any changes. “The population is mostly apolitical ... We face complete absence of civil society,” the lawyer said.