Residents of Dagestan report on mass detentions of mosque-goers in Makhachkala and Derbent (+video)

Residents of the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent complain about mass detentions of mosque-goers in city mosques. In the capital of Dagestan, the police confirmed the reports on detentions; however, law enforcers of Derbent refuted to confirm the information.

On Friday, in Makhachkala, policemen cordoned off the building of the Salafi mosque located in Hungarian Fighters Street immediately after the start of the Friday prayer (namaz), one of the believers named Zakarya told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the eyewitness, those mosque-goers, who claimed they had earlier been taken to the police station, were also forced into a bus.

Another resident of Makhachkala reported that he was kept, together with other 20-25 believers brought from two mosques, at the Sovietskiy ROVD (District Interior Division) of Makhachkala.

"The procedure is as usual: they fingerprint the detainees, checked for registration in the police databases, copy passport data, and make photos," he said.

Aisha Selimkhanova, a member of the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), has reported that the wife of one of the detainees brought to the Sovietskiy ROVD had already contacted her and complained that he was beaten there.

According to Selimkhanova, similar detentions took place in the Salafi mosque of Derbent.