A criminal case has been opened in Bashkiria after riots near the courthouse
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The criminal trial in the case of Fail Alchinov (listed as an extremist and terrorist) may be continued due to an unauthorized protest during the announcement of the verdict. The Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for Bashkiria opened a criminal case on the grounds of organizing and participating in mass riots, as well as the use of violence against government officials after clashes near the court in the city of Baymak. At the court, where Mr. Alchinov was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday for inciting hatred on ethnic grounds, the activist’s supporters, who were not satisfied with the court’s decision, gathered. The police did not immediately manage to force them to disperse; it came to a collision, after which several people sought medical help. The authorities and clergy called on citizens to remain calm and warned about the severity of criminal liability for mass riots.
The Ministry of Health of Bashkortostan stated that all those injured as a result of the riots near the district court building in Baymak are receiving the necessary medical care; none of them need hospitalization. The number of victims is not known; The republic’s prosecutor’s office has opened a hotline for them, which operates on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00. The department proposes to report all facts of violation of the law that took place during an unauthorized protest near the courthouse in Baymak.
On Wednesday morning, Baymaksky Court judge Elina Tagirova, in a closed court session, sentenced 37-year-old Fail Alchinov to four years in a general regime colony for inciting hatred and humiliating the dignity of a group of people on the basis of race, nationality, language, origin (Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ).
Mr. Alchinov was taken into custody in the courtroom. The maximum term under this article is five years. The prosecution asked for four years in a penal colony for the defendant.
On April 28, 2023, Fail Alchinov spoke at a citizens’ gathering near the cultural center in Ishmurzino “with a speech of negative content towards persons of Armenian, Caucasian and Central Asian nationalities.” At the gathering, residents protested against the plans of the Eurasian Mining Company to conduct geological exploration in the vicinity of the village; Mr. Alchinov believed that the work would be carried out by migrants. It should be noted that for five years Fail Alchinov headed the unregistered organization “Bashkort,” which the Supreme Court of Bashkiria in 2020 recognized as extremist and banned. The activist gained fame during a public campaign to protect the Kushtau Shikhan, which was transferred to the Bashkir Soda Company (BSC) for development, but after protests it was taken under state protection. BSK later became state property. Rosfinmonitoring added Fail Alchinov to the list of extremists and terrorists on the eve of the court hearing, January 16.
In addition to the sentence to Fail Alchinov, the Baimaksky court also issued private rulings to the head of the administration of the Baimaksky district, Fanis Aminev, for the lack of preventive work of the local government in countering extremist activities, as well as to the head of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Baimaksky district, Rashit Nasyrov, for taking proper response measures and carrying out preventive work with the population in order to prevent illegal actions.
These rulings were made against the backdrop of a spontaneous protest at the courthouse: several hundred citizens gathered there demanding the immediate release of the defendant.
When police officers tried to push them away from the building, they were pushed back and pelted with snowballs; the police, in turn, used special equipment. About twenty participants in the unauthorized rally were detained, but released after drawing up a protocol. Official data on the number of detainees has not been published. On Wednesday evening, the Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee for Bashkiria announced the initiation of a criminal case on the grounds of organizing and participating in mass riots (Parts 1 and 2 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and the use of violence against a government official (Part 1 of Article 318 of the Criminal Code). “During the mass riots, accompanied by violence, including the use of objects used as weapons, several people were injured, including law enforcement officers,” the ICR Investigative Directorate said in a release. The Bashkortostan prosecutor’s office took control of the investigation.
The chairman of the public council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Bashkiria, Rafail Divaev, called on residents to remain calm, not to succumb to provocations and not to participate in them: “These are very serious articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, from the category of especially serious ones. Mass riots are a threat to the national security of the country, and therefore the punishment under this article is quite serious. I advise you to come to your senses and not ruin your life, especially since all controversial issues can be resolved legally.”
Representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Bashkortostan reported that calls for participation in an unauthorized public rally in front of the courthouse in Baymak were posted on social networks. The department called on citizens not to succumb to provocations and not to participate in it, in particular, after the attempted unauthorized rally near the court on January 15. After the gathering on January 15, several of its active participants were detained, and a number of Telegram channels containing calls for participation in protests were blocked. According to investigators, such calls were also made on the eve of the court hearing on Wednesday.
Representatives of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Bashkiria also called on believers to remain calm and not succumb to provocations.
The spiritual mentor of the special operation participants from Bashkiria, Khamza Khafizov, told reporters that Fail Alchinov was under the influence of the Wahhabis: “Seven or eight years ago, when I worked at the Baymak mosque and as an akhun of the Trans-Urals, I suggested that he work together to unite youth, fight drunkenness, and develop sports. … But he turned away. Even then, next to him there were people from Islamic extremist organizations banned in Russia. Then some of them were convicted, but then Fail Alchinov was captured by the Wahhabis.” Mr. Khafizov drew attention to the composition of the participants in the unauthorized protest: “There were many elderly people there who were being indoctrinated.” It should be noted that about 17.8 thousand people live in the regional center of Baymak; Bashkirs make up 78.4%, Russians – 17.25%. In total, Bashkiria has about 4 million inhabitants, of which 37.5% are Russians, 31.5% are Bashkirs and 24.2% are Tatars.
The fighters of the Bashkir battalions in the Northern Military District zone called on the residents of Bashkiria to “condemn Alchinov and express contempt for him”: “We, the soldiers of the battalion named after Minigali Shaimuratov (Major General, commander of the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division during the Great Patriotic War.— “Kommersant”), we have been fighting for more than a year now, defending the honor of Bashkortostan in the Northern Military District. Over the past few days, unpleasant news has been coming from our homeland: extremists from banned organizations are stupefying and deceiving our residents and are trying to bring them to a rally in support of Fail Alchinov, the creator of the extremist organization… We urge you to send Alchinov and his friends to our battalion, we will re-educate them and teach us to love our homeland,” said one of the servicemen.
The sentence to Fail Alchinov has not yet entered into legal force. His lawyer Ilnur Suyundukov intends to file an appeal. He said that the client does not admit his guilt and considers the persecution to be politically motivated.
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