Human Rights Council under Russian President calls to investigate murder of Dagestani school principal

The members of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation have urged law enforcement bodies to strain all their efforts to investigate the murder of a headmaster in Dagestan; and the government officials – to do everything to normalize the situation in the village of Sovietskoe, where at night on July 9 Sadikullah Akhmedov, 59, the principal of the local secondary school, was shot dead.

"We are not only indignant, but also deeply saddened with this incident," said Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the Human Rights Council under the Russian President. "We have no doubt about the reasons for this crime – we associate it with the unhealthy situation, which looks to be present in Sovietskoe," the "Interfax" quotes Mr Fedotov as saying.

Let us remind you that on May 13 in the village of Sovietskoe, Magaramkent District of Dagestan, on 13 May parishioners of the local mosque were detained and then beaten. The situation in the village was discussed in Makhachkala at the travelling session of the Presidential Council for Human Rights.

Abdurashid Magomedov, the head of the Dagestani MIA, has admitted his subordinates' violations in dealing with the believers.

"The village of Sovietskoe saw the events, for which law enforcers are to blame: during the Friday namaz they entered the mosque and detained young people without any reason; and it angered the people," said Fedotov.

"In Sovietskoe, children leave schools. At wedding parties, they forbid playing music. We need both to bring those who had joined bandit formation back to peaceful life and prevent those who may go to the forest from doing it. It should be done not through violence, but by addressing problems and taking care about people. Then, we'll have no such terrible crimes," he said.