Analysts exclude political motives in charge mitigation against Ingush protesters

The softening of the charges put forward against six Ingush activists has nothing to do with the election of the head of the republic scheduled for September 8, Ruslan Mutsolgov, a politician, Magomed Bekov, a lawyer, and Timur Akiev, a human rights defender, are sure. Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, the acting head of Ingushetia, has promised to promote an impartial investigation into the March events.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 26, Kaloi Akhilgov, an advocate, said that investigators had re-qualified the charges against Zelimkhan Tomov and Magomed Ozdoev, arrested after the rally in Magas, into a softer article. Investigators decided that activists' actions posed no threat to policemen's lives.

Ruslan Mutsolgov, the head of the Ingush branch of the "Yabloko" Party, treats the investigators' decision as a cunning trick, not aimed at the triumph of the rule of law.

Magomed Bekov, a lawyer, believes the charge re-qualification to be a logical decision; however, he is convinced that the charges against the activists are absurd.

Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov has promised to promote the inquiry into the March events in strict accordance with the law, Beyal Evloev, an MP of the Ingush National Assembly (Parliament), has stated.

The MP has expressed the opinion that "the previous republic's leadership had deliberately provoked people in order to then repress civil activists."

Mr Kalimatov has promised to meet Ingush NGO activists and raise the issue of releasing the arrested activists; but this meeting did not take place, said Visingirei Gagiev, a member of the Presidium of the Russian Congress of Caucasian Nations.