Sentence to policeman in case on rally in Magas cancelled

A court returned a case against Ingush policeman Magomed Dolgiev for reconsideration at a complaint filed by a public prosecutor, who found a lenient sentence for refusing to disperse protesters in Magas.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 19, 2021, a court found Magomed Dolgiev, a 46-year-old former employee of the patrol-and post-service (known as PPS) battalion, guilty of disobeying the order and sentenced him to 1.5 years of imprisonment on probation. Meanwhile, the judge ruled out a political motive in the actions of the policeman, deciding that he did not feel hostility towards the authorities of Ingushetia. The public prosecutor requested the court to sentence Magomed Dolgiev to 2.5 years of imprisonment.

On March 26, 2019, residents of Ingushetia, who were protesting against the agreement on border with Chechnya and demanding the resignation of Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov, extended the protest rally in Magas without the permission of the authorities. As a result, clashes occurred between the protestors and the police. The PPS battalion was disbanded for refusing to disperse the protesters, thirteen of its employees, including Magomed Dolgiev, were subjected to criminal prosecution.

Magomed Dolgiev is one of fifteen members of the Ingush PPS battalion who refused to disperse the protesters.

Let us remind that all thirteen dismissed policemen tried to achieve reinstatement in the service through the court. Human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina states that those policemen prevented the inevitable bloodshed. The chiefs of the law enforcement bodies shifted the blame for the aggravation of the political situation to those policemen, suggest Mikhail Pavlov, the head of the interregional police union.