Dimitrovgrad inmates go on hunger strike after North-Caucasians natives were beaten up

About a hundred inmates kept in the prison located in the city of Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk Region of Russia) have gone on a hunger strike in protest against beatings and humiliation of prisoners-natives of Northern Caucasus, human rights defenders have reported.

On April 13, in the Dimitrovgrad prison, the fasting prisoners, mostly those from Chechnya and Ingushetia, were beaten up. Besides, the Koran samples and prayer rugs belonging to them were liquidated; the inmates were also insulted and humiliated "because of their religion and nationality," the human rights project "Gulagu.net" has reported today.

"In protest, dozens of inmates have [cut themselves] in order to document their traumas and invite the supervising prosecutor and members of the Public Oversight Commission (POC). During the beatings of the fasting inmates-believers, other prisoners, non-Muslims from other prison blocks, joined the protest in solidarity, unable to help their colleagues in any other way. The next day, on April 14, 2022, about a hundred inmates went on a hunger strike," says the message posted on the Telegram channel of the above project.

Let us remind you that in November 2021, the "Gulagu.net" posted video proofs of violence and torture of residents of Chechnya, Dagestan, Georgia and Azerbaijan committed in the Saratov prison hospital. The Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC) conducted a survey of prisoners; and they confirmed the information about mass violence, Andrei Babushkin, a HRC member, stated in December 2021.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 15, 2022 at 08:56 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.