22:16, 4 June 2019

Ingush activist Zelimkhan Bopkhoev arrested

Participants of rally in Magas, October 2018. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

A Nalchik court has ruled to detain Zelimkhan Bopkhoev, a participant of the March rally in Magas, accused of attacking law enforcers, for two months, his advocate Kaloi Akhilgov has informed.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 27, 2019, opponents of the Ingush-Chechen border agreement extended, without an authorities' permit, their protest action held in a Magas square. On the following day, there were clashes of protesters with law enforcers. According to the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF), ten law enforcers were injured. After the rally, detentions and arrests of activists began.

According to the calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", at least 96 people were persecuted, at least against 29 of them criminal cases were initiated.

Zelimkhan Bopkhoev is in the Nalchik SIZO (pre-trial prison), his advocate Kaloi Akhilgov has said today. "Yesterday, he was arrested for two months," the "MBKh Media" quoted Mr Akhilgov as saying.

"Bopkhoev was charged with using violence against a law enforcer (Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The same charges were brought against other earlier detained Ingush activists," the "Kavkaz.Realii" has quoted Mr Akhilgov today as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 4, 2019 at 05:42 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.