Buddha statue desecrated in Elista

On the night of April 2, an athlete from Dagestan, who came to tournament in Elista, defiled the statue of Buddha in the temple. The incident caused a wide public response.

On the night of April 2, 2016, the Dagestan athlete Said Osmanov, who came to Elista for freestyle wrestling competitions, together with teammates went to a Buddhist temple, urinated there and kicked him in the nose statue of Buddha. He posted a video recording of the act of vandalism on the Internet.

Local residents who watched the video came to the building the hotel where the athletes stayed. S. Osmanov was forced to apologize. was initiated against him After that, he was detained by the police, and a criminal case .

Tournament organizers have decided to cancel the competition.

Shortly after the incident, Elista was visited by the head of the government Dagestan Abdusamad Gamidov. He apologized to the residents Kalmykia and said that the coach who brought the team to Elista, of which he was a member detained wrestler, fired. In addition, the Minister of Sports of Dagestan received a reprimand for the lack of proper work with athletes, and S. Osmanov himself banned from sports for life.

With an appeal to the inhabitants of Kalmykia, head of the republic Alexei Orlov. “We [the peoples of Kalmykia and Dagestan] We condemn this act of vandalism. Moral, spiritual freaks committing these illegal actions have no nationality ,” he said.

A statement about the incident was distributed and Dagestan mufti. The document states that the Quran forbids a Muslim to desecrate what any people revere. We hope this incident will become a lesson for all Muslims of the republic and will help to avoid future similar behavior towards those who live peacefully in the same country with us ," the statement said. Sources

• Dagestan wrestler suspected of desecrating Buddha statue in Elista taken into custody // Interfax. 2016. April 4.
• The head of the government of Dagestan apologized for the desecration of a statue of Buddha by a fellow countryman // Lenta.ru. 2016. April 3.
• The Muftiate of Dagestan condemned the vandalism of an athlete in Kalmykia // IA REGNUM. 2016. April 4.