Khutnib residents spoke about pressure on rally organizers

Security officials tried to hand out warnings to activists from the Dagestani village of Khutnib who applied to hold a rally; one of the villagers was demoted. More than 30 complaints to various authorities have not helped to attract attention to the distribution of lands belonging to the village, the Khutnib residents said.

As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, residents of the village of Khutnib in the Gunibsky District intend to hold a rally on August 31, at which they will voice reports of corruption in the district in connection with the alienation of agricultural land. The villagers have repeatedly appealed to the authorities of the district and Dagestan and to law enforcement agencies, but in response they have only received formal replies, they said in their appeal to Putin. The settlement of Khutnib is not registered, but the review of complaints from villagers showed violations of land legislation, the Dagestan Ministry of Property stated today, announcing the transfer of materials to the prosecutor's office.

One of the organizers of the rally, Musa Musayev, told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that the residents of the village of Khutnib were resettled here in 1978, they were allocated land plots for construction, livestock farming, and growing crops. Subsequently, almost all the land was transferred to various organizations and individuals. There are currently 120 farms in the village. On the few remaining plots of land owned by the villagers, people plant potatoes and corn. As Musayev specified, the villagers themselves brought water to the village, laid asphalt at their own expense, and there was no support from the district authorities or the state.

"We planted trees, and good gardens grew. Then documents appeared that were drawn up retroactively, as if a new owner had appeared there. People found out about this when they started building tourist bases on the plots. We constantly wrote to the head of Dagestan and the prosecutor's office about violations in the distribution of land, but no one pays attention, so we want to hold a rally. If they give the go-ahead, we will do it. If not, we will not hold illegal rallies," Musayev says.

The notice of the rally on August 31 was registered with the district administration, activist Aziz Magomedmirzaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, there were attempts to put pressure on the organizers, police officers arrived and tried to hand them a warning. 

"But the residents said that we notified about holding the rally in accordance with the procedure established by law, and if there are no objections from the district administration, we will speak at the rally," says Magomedmirzaev. 

Apricot and apple orchards, which provided income to residents, are being cut down on these lands.

He reported that local residents wrote more than 30 different statements about violations in the distribution of land plots, including to the prosecutor's office, the Investigative Committee, and various authorities of the North Caucasus Federal District.

"Due to the lack of reaction, people are forced to appeal directly to Putin and come out to the rally," says Magomedmirzaev.

Aziz Magomedmirzaev explained that he was talking about Kurban Makhaev, who worked as a driver for the head of the district administration.

"Since the head of the administration does not like the activities of the public figures, he first wanted to fire Makhaev, then transferred him to another, low-paying job," Magomedmirzaev said.

He added that 175 hectares of land around the village of Khutnib, where people cultivated the land, planted orchards, were sold and distributed to who knows who, and the villagers' appeals remain unanswered.

"Apricot and apple orchards, which provided income to residents, are being cut down on these lands. Development is underway, private houses and tourist facilities are being built. Therefore, the residents are outraged, brought to such a state that they are forced to go to a rally," Magomedmirzaev says.

The villagers' lawyer Arslan Mamedsaatov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the date for considering the appeal against the Gunibsky District Court's decision has not yet been determined.

The appeal states that the court proceeded from the fact that the complaint had allegedly already been satisfied, since the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case was overturned by the supervising prosecutor.

"This conclusion of the court is erroneous and is based on an incorrect interpretation of the norms of criminal procedure law, as well as the legal position of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, set out in the resolution of the plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 10.02.2009 "On the practice of considering judicial complaints in accordance with Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation," the appeal states.

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