The court in Stavropol upheld the extension of the arrest of the leader of protests against changes in borders with Chechnya

The Stavropol Regional Court recognized as lawful the extension of the arrest until February 10 to one of the elders of the Ingush people, Akhmed Barakhoev. This was reported by the "Caucasian Knot" with reference to the lawyer of the "Right Initiative" Fatima Urusova.

According to Urusova, the court of first instance, which extended the arrest, did not sufficiently examine the validity of the charges. “The absence of a clearly formulated accusation <…> deprives us of the opportunity to defend ourselves,” the newspaper reports the lawyer’s words. Urusova also added that her client was not given the floor at the court of first instance, which violates procedural rules.

At the appeal, Barakhoev stated that the events of March 2019 were caused by the authorities not respecting the rights of Russian citizens. Barakhoev spoke out against illegal actions against both the protesters and the National Guard.

• Earlier, lawyer Kaloy Alkhigov reported that Barakhoev and another elderly person involved in the "Ingush case" Malsag Uzhakhov were being tortured by long transportation in a paddy wagon. According to the lawyer, Barakhoev and Uzhakhov from the Vladikavkaz pre-trial detention center, first to Nalchik, and then to Stavropol and back to Vladikavkaz, due to some kind of examination at the E. Center. Elderly people spent more than 20 hours in atozaks without the opportunity to get food.
• Barakhoev has been held in a pre-trial detention center since April 14, 2019.
• In April 2019, were opened criminal cases against three leaders of the protest against the transfer of part of the land of Ingushetia to Chechnya, Musa Malsagov, Barakh Chemurziev and Akhmet Barakhoev. 65-year-old elder Barakhoev was accused of using violence against law enforcement officers (part 3 of article 33, part 2 of article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
• On March 26, in Magas, local residents held a concerted rally against the redistribution of borders with Chechnya, its participants demanded the resignation of the head of the republic, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov. After the official end of the action, as the "Caucasian Knot" reported , about two thousand protesters remained on the square all night. On the morning of March 27, the security forces began to disperse the protesters, clashes broke out . The protesters left the square after the authorities promised to agree on a new action in five days. After that, local residents gathered at the entrance to Nazran, blocking the federal highway "Caucasus".