Court upholds arrest extension of Ingush activists

A court in Stavropol has upheld the extension of the arrest of Ingush protest leaders accused of creating an extremist community. The defence intends to appeal against this decision.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case of Zarifa Sautieva and six other leaders of protests in Ingushetia has been considered by the court since November 24, 2020. The court will be forced to pass a guilty verdict, although more than half of the prosecution witnesses have dropped their claims against the defendants, Djabrail Kuriev, an advocate, has stated.

According to his story, the court found the prosecution's arguments about the gravity of the committed crime to be reasonable.

The advocate is seriously worried about the state of health of his client, Malsag Uzhakhov. "He is physically oppressed by travelling in paddy wagons from the SIZO (pre-trial prison) to the courthouse and back. For an elderly sick person, these travels, especially in hot weather, are comparable to torture," Mr Kuriev has explained.

In his turn, the prosecutor stated at the trial that none of the defendants has any diseases that would prevent them from being held in custody. He stated that otherwise "Uzhakhov and all six of his comrades can flee abroad."

The advocate has doubted the unbiased nature of the trial.