“Memorial”: Salafi mosque in Shamkhal closed

The mosque in the settlement of Shamkhal in the Kirov District of Makhachkala was closed at the request of law enforcement bodies. Believers plan to complain to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the Prosecutor's Office, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 29, 2016, power agents closed the above Salafi mosque in Shamkhal, promising to reopen it after appointment of a new Imam.

According to the HRC "Memorial", parishioners of the mosque have drawn up all the necessary documents, and registered their religious community at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) under the name of the "Muslim Religious Group", thus, fulfilling all the authorities’ requirements.

On May 17, Gamzat Gamzatov, a board member of the above group, turned to the branch of the HRC “Memorial” in Makhachkala and said that on May 16 he was invited for a talk by some law enforcement body.

According to rights defenders, Gamzat Gamzatov and Shamsudin Magomedov, another board member, were told that law enforcers that "there are no claims to the community, but the mosque should be closed." Magomedov protested saying that it was illegal.

Later on the same day, a law enforcer came to Magomedov and asked him to give out the keys to the mosque. "Not wanting to aggravate relations and hoping to solve the problem according to the law, he locked the mosque and gave out the keys," says the message.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.