29 August 2009, 17:00
ICR press secretary tells details of her detention
Fatima Tarasova, press secretary of the Islamic Committee of Russia (ICR), who was detained in the course of the rally of relatives of kidnapped persons on August 26 in the capital of Dagestan, told the "Caucasian Knot" about the circumstances of the incident.
Ms Tarasova, who earlier told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent how power agents had suppressed the action, now explained that the employees of the Sovietskiy ROVD of Makhachkala, where the detained women were brought, did not use any physical force to them. "All my traumas were mainly received at detention, not at the police station, where we were delivered," she said. "The detention was conducted very violently, in spite of the fact that there were many women, including a woman with a baby, who was pushed into the car; therefore, the child occurred squeezed between two militiamen."
According to her story, she was detained because she tried to make photos of the moment of dispersal of the rally by law enforcers.
"A column of militiamen appeared and started forcing the protesters off the square," said Fatima. "At first, militiamen were without masks, but then they put them on. The crowd was pushed to the mini-park; then, UAZ minivans drove up. I told the men who took part in the action: 'They'll now catch everybody, go away.' At that moment I saw a stout chunky man running and pointing at me crying: 'Here, take this beast first of all.' Then, they grasped me and started pushing into the car. One of militiamen snatched away my photo camera, and I never saw it again."
After that, as Fatima Tarasova said, she was brought, together with five more women, including the one with the baby, to the Sovietskiy ROVD of Makhachkala. They were kept there for about eight hours.