A protester against the transfer of Ingush lands to Chechnya was sentenced to a real prison term

The person involved in the "Ingush case" Magomed Khamkhoev was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony. This was reported by the Human Rights Center "Memorial".

The decision was made by the Essentuki City Court. Earlier, the prosecutor's office demanded that the man be sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison.

Initially, Khamkhoev was accused of using dangerous violence against government officials (part 2 of article 318 of the Criminal Code) because of his participation in a rally in Magas. He pleaded not guilty, and the investigation did not provide evidence. Then he was accused of inciting the use of non-dangerous violence against a representative of the authorities (part 1 of article 318 of the Criminal Code with the application of part 4 of article 33 of the Criminal Code).

Before the verdict was passed, 23 witnesses were interviewed in court, who refuted the version of the prosecution. They stated that there was no incitement to violence either on the part of Khamkhoev or on the part of other defendants in the “Ingush case”.

Fatima Urusova, the defendant's lawyer, told Memorial that, taking into account the time served in the pre-trial detention center, where one day is counted as a day and a half in a colony, Khamkhoev will have to stay in custody for about eight months.

• On March 26, 2019, about 10 thousand people came out to a rally against the change of borders in Magas. About two thousand protesters remained on the square all night. In the morning they began to be dispersed, as a result of which clashes broke out between the security forces and the protesters .
• According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, as of November 23, 2020, 46 people were prosecuted in the wake of the rally in Magas, and prosecution against three of them was stopped.
• More than 30 defendants in the "Ingush case" were sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from 6 months to three and a half years.