Immediately after the arrest of the person involved in the rally case, Akhmed Pogorov, his family turned to a lawyer for help and concluded an agreement with him to further protect his side. On March 1, Magomed Gagiev visited the detainee in the pre-trial detention center, talked to him and checked the conditions of detention.
“At the moment, Akhmed is being held in pre-trial detention center No. 1 in Nalchik, there are no complaints about the conditions of detention, the attitude towards him from all sides is normal, and I have not received any complaints from Akhmed. In the future, a preliminary investigation will be carried out, it is too early to talk about the date and place of the trial, ”lawyer Magomed Gagiev told Fortange.
He noted that he would take all possible measures to protect Pogorov. “We have to carry out very painstaking work and various investigative measures in the case of Ahmed, I cannot say anything about further successes in this case, since the case has just been put into production. Also, in the near future, we plan to apply to the investigator with a request for a meeting between Pogorov and his relatives, ”Gagiev said.
The detention of Akhmed Pogorov has become one of the hardest moments for the residents of the republic, and this will become an even greater chasm between the population and the authorities, said human rights activist Ruslan Mutsolgov.
“It is obvious to me that the criminal prosecution of Ahmed, as well as of other participants in the popular protest, is the height of injustice. It is hard for me, like other residents of the republic, to realize that he is being subjected to such repressions by the authorities. After Akhmed’s arrest, the scale of mistrust in the authorities increased to such an extent that nothing will fill this gap, ”Ruslan Mutsolgov told Fortange.
He also noted that the regional authorities have demonstrated that they are doing absolutely nothing to protect the interests of the rights of their people. This actually deprived her of the support of all segments of the population.
Tamirlan Akiev, head of the Memorial Human Rights Center * office in Nazran, believes that the investigating authorities do not have sufficient grounds to prosecute Pogorov. Also, in his opinion, the persecution of other protest leaders is unreasonable.
“But, based on the realities of life, unfortunately, it is not necessary to have sufficient grounds for criminal prosecution in our country. We see that people are kept in prison for almost two years without any proof of guilt. Another Ingush half-prisoner Magomed Khamkhoev recently received a real term. And in this case, neither the investigation nor the court presented any imputed evidence. I can assume that the Pogorov case will develop according to the same scenario, ”the human rights activist told Fortange.
Recall that Akhmed Pogorov was detained on February 26 at his house, after which he was taken to an unknown destination, and his fate remained unknown for some time. Earlier, he was charged in absentia, and he was put on the international wanted list. Pogorov is charged under Part 2 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Part 3 of Art. 33 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the use of violence dangerous to life or health, or the threat of violence against a government official …) and Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of an extremist community and participation in it).
Note that Akhmed was a participant in the rally on March 26, 2019 in Magas and called the activists to order. After he was put on the wanted list, and his house was searched, he initially continued to actively fight corruption in the government.
Rallies against the border agreement between Ingushetia and Chechnya have been held in Magas since the fall of 2018. In March 2019, they turned into clashes with security officials and detentions of activists. In total, 46 people were arrested, about 30 received real sentences on charges of violence against government officials. In the dock, including seven protest leaders. They are also accused of organizing and calling for violence against government officials, as well as creating and participating in an extremist community.
* — the organization, by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, is included in the register of NPOs performing the functions of a foreign agent
