Detainee for laying flowers in Navalny's memory leaves Dagestan for fear of persecution

The court ruling to arrest Mukhammed Djambulatov, a resident of Dagestan, for 11 days for refusing to undergo medical examination, has been appealed against; he was detained while laying flowers in memory of Alexei Navalny. Djambulatov has stated that he had left Dagestan because he fears law enforcers' persecution. He got into their attention back in 2016, and has since been on the so-called "prophylactic register".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that after the detention, law enforcers beat up Mukhammed Djambulatov, a Makhachkala resident, who had laid flowers at the spontaneous memorial to Alexei Navalny, and forced him to refuse a medical examination, which led to his arrest for 11 days.

"It's no longer safe for me to come to Dagestan ... Even in Moscow I worry ... They could plant drugs or weapons and put me in jail, as was the case with other Navalny's supporters in Dagestan," Mr Djambulatov has explained.

Djambulatov has been in the focus of law enforcers' attention because of his oppositional views since 2016, when he was put on the "prophylactic register". "In 2016, I posted my comments in the 'Odnoklassniki' social network that mismatched the authorities' general line. Then, there was the peak of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted in Dagestan," he said, explaining that in his comment he doubted that one of those killed in the CTO, whom law enforcers declared to be a militant, was involved in illegal armed formations (IAFs). Besides, his comment called for a violation of Russia's territorial integrity.

Dagestani law enforcers would not remove him from the "prophylactic register", since Djambulatov was treated as an oppositionist. Because of this, he rarely visited his village in Dagestan.

Navalny's death was a personal tragedy for him. This made him to commemorate Navalny, knowing that he would surely be punished for that.

Those around the 28-year-old Djambulatov do not support his position. "My political views are supported by no one in my circle – neither relatives, nor friends, nor colleagues," he has complained.

*Navalny's offices are recognized as extremist organizations and banned in Russia. Alexei Navalny is a founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (known as FBK), an NCO that is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of NCOs performing functions of a foreign agent. The NCO is also recognized by a court as extremist and banned in the territory of Russia.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 22, 2024 at 06:18 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.