Experts treat searches of Ingush Imams as intimidation acts

The searches of the house of Isa Tsechoev and cars of Khamzat Chumakov's relatives are attempts to intimidate these authoritative religious figures, said the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in the morning on March 5, agents of the Ingush Department of the Russian FSB conducted a search of the house of Imam Isa Tsechoev in the village of Ali-Yurt. On the same day, in the Sunzha District, power agents stopped three cars from the cortege of Khamzat Chumakov, another well-known Imam of the republic. His relatives were detained for a check, but then released; and the cars were searched.

The above searches are interrelated and look like intimidation, Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the head of the project for Russia of the International Crisis Group (ICG), is convinced.

"In my opinion, it’s an obvious act of intimidation. I’m sure that both episodes are interconnected and intended as a signal to both religious figures that they need to be more careful and less visible," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Ms Sokiryanskaya has no doubt that "this was done by federals," but, as she said, a question arises whether they did it on their own initiative, or by the request of regional forces.

Intimidation of Imams will lead to an aggravation of the situation in the region, Bagaudin Khautiev, a member of the Ingush regional branch of the Association of Russian Lawyers and the Chairman of the Council of Youth Organizations of Ingushetia, believes.

"The situation in the republic has been brought to the limit; it can be seen with a naked eye. Almost all the public-political forces are tuned against the regional leadership, since they blame the head of Ingushetia for everything that is happening," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

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