Circassian activist arrested in KBR

The court has ruled to detain Oleg Umarov, the head of the "Dobro Cherkesov" (Circassians' Wealth) Charity Foundation, who was detained on suspicion of possessing drugs, for two days, his advocate has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Umarov was detained in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) at night on December 7, after which masked law enforcers broke into Umarov's house, where his wife was at that moment.

The decision to arrest Umarov was made in the evening on December 7. "Oleg Umarov was detained on suspicion of possessing narcotic drugs. We will prove his innocence," advocate Soslan Boriev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Umarov's relatives assert that drugs were planted on him. "At night on December 7, narcotic substances were planted right into his house. It happened at three o'clock in the morning on December 7, when his wife was there," one of Umarov's relatives told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, the detention can be political. "Accusations of possessing drugs are absurd. Oleg is a serious man; he has opened a foundation that helps low-income families and orphans; he has never been involved in anything illegal," the man has added.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 8, 2018 at 10:41 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.