Rights defenders urge to release all Ingush activists

The mass arrests of Ingush oppositionists are heating up the already tense situation in the republic; all the arrested activists should be released under recognizance not to leave, human rights defenders assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the rally on March 26-27, a wave of detentions covered Ingushetia. Some activists were fined; others were taken to Nalchik and arrested on charges of using violence against law enforcers.

Oleg Orlov and Alexander Cherkasov, members of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"; Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Civil Assistance Committee; and Valery Borschov, a co-chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, have called on the head of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Evkurov, to influence the fate of the arrested activists and start a dialogue with the opposition.

"Without such a dialogue, the split of the authorities with a noticeable part of the Ingush society, as well as within the society itself, will inevitably grow. The opposition, largely decapitated by arrests of its leaders, will only get more and more radicalized, which will have a negative impact, first of all, on the youth," a rights defenders' letter that has arrived at the "Caucasian Knot" states.

The release of activists will be an act of humanity, which will reduce tensions in the region and restore the civil accord, rights defenders believe.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 29, 2019 at 08:53 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.