The Bashkortostan authorities ignored the largest protests in Russia since the beginning of the war. Local activist received 4 years in prison

The court of the city of Baymak in the Republic of Bashkortostan sentenced local activist Fail Alsynov to four years in a general regime colony for inciting ethnic hatred. The prison sentence came despite mass protests outside the courthouse, which were among the largest since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Details . The prosecutor's office asked to impose a sentence in a penal colony, but the court handed down a more severe sentence, writes Ufa1 with reference to the joint press service of the courts of Bashkortostan. The meeting was held behind closed doors.

• After the verdict was pronounced, the activist was changed to a pre-trial detention center and taken into custody in the courtroom. As he was led out of the hall, he thanked those gathered. The defense intends to appeal the verdict.

• Before the verdict, people came to the courthouse again. Videos published by the telegram channel of local activists “Kushtau Bayram” show that there are a lot of people, probably several thousand. The activists themselves estimate the number of people who came to the protests at about 5 thousand. People chanted “We will not surrender our own” and “ Freedom ”. After the verdict was pronounced, the crowd remained outside the courthouse waiting for Alsynov to be taken out of it, writes Ufa1.

• According to the telegram channel “NeMoskva Speaks,” activists near the courthouse began to push back the security forces. As a result, were detained . at least four people
• The authorities tried to prevent new large-scale protests. On the eve of the sentencing, security forces visited at least five activists. On the day of the verdict, there were communication problems in the city, and at night at least three buses with security forces arrived at the scene, writes Kushtau Bayram. The paths to the courthouse were blocked by construction equipment, so they had to get to the site on foot, writes Ufa1.
• Also on the eve of the sentencing, activist Ruslan Gabbasov wrote that the Telegram administration blocked several channels that reported on protests

Context . On January 15, thousands of people came to the courthouse for a rally in support of Alsynov. This protest became one of the largest in Russia since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The rally participants demanded the resignation of the head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov. also

• Fail Alsynov is one of the most famous Bashkir social activists. He participated in protests for the preservation of Mount Kushtau, headed the Bashkort organization, which advocated for the sovereignty of Bashkortostan (liquidated after being recognized as extremist in 2020). The case was opened against him at the request of Khabirov. Read more about the case here .