30 April 2019, 18:14
Court leaves chair of Ingush Council of Teips in custody
The Supreme Court (SC) of Kabardino-Balkaria refused to release Malsag Uzhakhov, the chairman of the Ingush Council of Teips (family clans), under house arrest.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 20, Malsag Uzhakhov was taken away from his house by armed men. The activist became a suspect in a case on the use of violence against policemen. In late April, Malsag Uzhakhov and Elder Akhmed Barakhoev, another protest leader, were transferred to Vladikavkaz.
On March 26, a rally was held in Magas with the demand for the resignation of the Ingush leader. On March 27, a police attempt to disperse the protesters provoked clashes. According to investigators, 10 law enforcers were injured. On April 2, the police started mass arrests of activists.
"It turns out that my client was transferred to Vladikavkaz together with Akhmed Barakhoev on April 26. Neither I nor the relatives of Malsag Uzhakhov were informed about that," said advocate Djabrail Kuriev.
The defence requested the court to mitigate the pre-trial restriction measure for Malsag Uzhakhov and release him under house arrest, since it was not proven that Malsag Uzhakhov participated in the riots and the use of force against the policemen. However, the court refused to take the defence arguments into account.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 30, 2019 at 00:54 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Amina Zakaeva Source: CK correspondent
