Natives of Northern Caucasus tell details of detention in Moscow

On December 19, dozens North-Caucasian natives were detained by law enforcers forces in a Moscow hostel; they were all released after photographing and fingerprinting, the hostel tenants told the "Caucasian Knot". According to their story, law enforcers behaved rudely and applied physical force against some tenants.

In total, over 100 natives of the republics of Northern Caucasus were detained, including women, children and elderly people. They were given no water and not allowed to go to the toilet, said the tenants of the hostel located in Altufievskaya Street, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" on December 20.

According to Elmira Khumieva, one of the tenants, law enforcers dragged literally everyone into the corridor; they put men face to the wall, with their hands put against it, and their legs spread apart; and physical force was applied to those who did not obey. "They beat up everyone: the pensioner Mairbek Yusupov and the schoolboy I. ... If someone looked aside, they beat their head against the wall," said the woman.

The tenants of the hostel had come to Moscow either to work or to receive medical treatment, Kerim Patakhov, a Dagestani, told the "Caucasian Knot". "We didn't do anything wrong; we live in the hostel ... We are all citizens of Russia, but they force us to get fingerprinted, like some notorious killers-maniacs, and photographed in profile, full face and full-height with a plate. They didn't inform us what was the purpose of all these actions. They did it only with Caucasians: Chechens, Ingushes, Dagestanis and Kabardians," said Mr Patakhov.

Mairbek Yusupov, a bus driver, who has two years left until retirement, told the "Caucasian Knot" that he had returned late after his work to the hostel, had no time to have a rest, when he was pushed into a cold paddy wagon, where he stood for more than two hours. According to his story, in the vehicle he felt some heart problems; his blood tension went up, but the law enforcer, who was guarding the detainees, refused to let him out.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 21, 2018 at 07:12 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.