20:52, 26 December 2019

Court leaves Ingush journalist Rashid Maisigov under home arrest

Rashid Maisigov. Photo by the press service of the "Fortanga ORG"

In Magas, the court has extended for three months the house arrest of Rashid Maisigov, a journalist of the "Fortanga", accused of drug possession.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court extended the detention of Rashid Maisigov until January 7, 2020, but then the defence managed to convince the court to replace the pre-trial restriction measure with home arrest. The court's decision gives hope that the persecution of participants in the Ingush protests will be stopped, notes Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the human rights organization "Mashr". The human rights defender was among the opponents of the agreement on the Chechen-Ingush border, but he did not take part in the protest rallies, reports advocate Magomed Aushev.

Rashid Maisigov collaborated with the edition "Fortanga", which covered the protests in Ingushetia. The journalist complained about anonymous threats related to his professional activities. On July 12, Rashid Maisigov was detained after searches in his house. The journalist was accused of drug possession on a particularly large scale. He pleads not guilty.

Rashid Maisigov will be kept in custody until March 11, 2020, the "MBH Media" reports with reference to the press service of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Let us remind you that the law enforcement bodies started to arrest activists in Ingushetia in April. Law enforcers charge the activists with participation in clashes between local residents and law enforcers that occurred after the protesters continued on March 26 the rally in Magas without the sanction from the authorities.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 26, 2019 at 00:30 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.