Experts associate searches in "Mashr" office with suppression of dissent

The office of the Ingush human rights organization "Mashr" was searched to put pressure on its leader Magomed Mutsolgov. This opinion was expressed by experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot". Magomed Mutsolgov himself believes that he received warnings about possible criminal proceedings against him because of his public activities.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 6, men in masks cordoned off the yard of the office of the Ingush human rights organization "Mashr" and the house of its leader Magomed Mutsolgov and began to carry out the search. Law enforcers seized a large package of documents and PCs.

According to Ruslan Mutsolgov, a brother of the "MASHR" leader, the search justification has stated that Magomed Mutsolgov leads all non-commercial organizations (NCOs) in Northern Caucasus, publicly criticizes the policies and decisions of the authorities in relation to Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria, and thereby creates a negative image of the country.

Ruslan Martagov, a Chechen historian and political analyst and a former advisor to the "Anti-Terror" Foundation, believes that such actions against NCOs in the region are in line with the general policy in Russia.

Magomed Mutsolgov did not shake the situation and was not engaged in any subversive activities. This opinion was expressed by Akhmed Yarlykapov, Senior Researcher of the Centre for Ethno-Political Studies of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.