17 March 2021, 20:38
In Prague, police stop a solo picket in support of Ingush activists
Today, Ingush journalist Izabella Evloeva has held a solo picket in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague in support of the Ingush leaders of the protest. Diplomats called the police and the solo picket was stopped.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 10, Zarifa Sautieva was transferred from the SIZO to house arrest, and on March 16, the Stavropol Territorial Court considered a prosecutor's appeal and ordered to return the activist to custody. After that, the leaders of the Ingush protest, accused in the case on the rally in Magas, went on a hunger strike and refused to take further part in the trial.
Starting from November 24, 2020, the court has been considering the case against Zarifa Sautieva and six other leaders of the protest in Ingushetia. The Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial"* recognized all seven defendants in the Ingush case as political prisoners. Almost all questioned participants of the trial evidenced in favour of the defendants.
At about 11:00 a.m. local time, journalist Izabella Evloeva, an Ingush activist, went to a solo picket in front of the Russian Embassy in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The activist brought with her two posters reading: "Ingush case. Shame on Russia" and "Freedom for Ingush political prisoners".
In total, the picket lasted about half an hour, Izabella Evloeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. She noted the place for the picket was chosen in order to draw the attention of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to the arrest of the Ingush activists.
After the start of the solo picket, a Russian Embassy employee came out to the activist and asked her to produce her passport and explain the purpose of her picket. Izabella Evloeva explained that she came out to support the defendants in the "Ingush case." Then the official from the Russian Embassy said that he was calling the police. The policemen who arrived at the place asked whether the solo picket had been sanctioned by the local authorities or whether it was a "spontaneous action." When the journalist said that she had not coordinated her actions with anyone, the police requested her to end the picket.
* the HRC "Memorial" is recognized in the Russian Federation as a foreign agent.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 17, 2021 at 03:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Oleg Krasnov Source: CK correspondent
