Zarifa Sautieva's arrest becomes a precedent for Ingushetia

Over the entire modern history of Ingushetia, law enforcers never arrested Ingush women for their civic position and for political reasons, stated Ingush politicians and public figures.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 15, in Nalchik, the court left until September 11 in SIZO (pre-trial prison) Ingush activist Zarifa Sautieva, detained in a case on clashes at a rally in Magas.

Ruslan Gagiev, a member of the Republic's National Assembly (Parliament), believes that the accusation against Zarifa Sautieva "can be easily seen through."

"This is a kind of legal chaos, and I cannot find other words. Especially when they detain a young woman and send her to jail," said Ruslan Gagiev.

According to him, the only fault of Zarifa Sautieva is in the fact that she took part in the protest rallies.

It is absurd to accuse Zarifa Sautieva of using violence against law enforcers during a rally in Magas on March 27, believes Pyatimat Yusupova, the head of the regional public organization "Prison and Law".

"She took part in the protest movement, but only as a journalist. Thanks to Zarifa Sautieva, users of the Internet and social networks learned about the events that took place in Ingushetia last autumn and this spring. She recorded everything on video and prepared live reports. Did she actually have time, and even with a video camera in her hands, to injure tall fighters of the National Guard of Russia? The fact that the Ingush woman is arrested for her civic position can only be called a shame," Pyatimat Yusupova told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 16, 2019 at 06:24 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.