Statement by the YABLOKO party, 13.11.2015

The YABLOKO party demands that the President of the Republic of Ingushetia must stop reprisals against the human rights defenders.

On November 6, 2015, about 30 armed police officers and special forces soldiers of the Ministry of Interior searched the office of the MASHR human rights organization and the appartment of the group’s founder Magomed Mutsolgov. At the same time, the regional officials systematically threaten the humans rights defenders with criminal persecution if Magomed Mutsolgov does not give up human rights protection activity and his brother Ruslan Mutsolgov does not leave the post of YABLOKO Chairman in the Republic of Ingushetia.

This [the persecution] has become possible after President of the Republic openly stated that the data on human rights violations must not be announced publically and gave a commission to bring a criminal case against Magomed Mutsolgov. In 2013 MASHR published its annual human rights report  on Ingushetia revealing all the cases of violation of rights of temporary settlers from the Chechen Republic on behalf of the authorities, which has become the reason for such a statement.

The autonomous nonprofit human rights organistation MASHR was founded in 2005 and provides free legal information for the residents, for vulnerable segments of the population in the first place. MASHR is not involved in political activity and acts according to the legislation of RF. A lot of prosecutors’ checks in respect of the organisation have been conducted after Evrukov’s order, however, no violations have been found but the threats still continue.

Such political persecution of human rights defenders and public activits is unacceptable and has the repressive character in regards to the people who are not welcomed by the regional authorities.

The YABLOKO party demands that Yunus-bek Evkurov must give instructions to the law inforcement of the Republic to stop persecution of human rights defenders Magomed and Ruslan Mutsolgovs. We ask the Human rights Ombudsperson of RF Ella Pamfilova to pay attention at the situation with human rights observance in the Republic of Ingushetia and take the case of Magomed and Ruslan Mutsolgovs under her personal control.

Sergei Mitrokhin,
YABLOKO Chairman