Residents of Ingushetia state that militia used force against participants of spontaneous rally

Participants of the rally held in Plievo village after its resident Mikail Pliev was kidnapped on March 5 on his way from Nazran to Pyatigorsk complain that militiamen dispersed the rally and applied force to some of the protesters.

"OMON (special militia) fighters have attacked Mikail's brothers and beat them trying to disperse the rally. Militiamen and other power agents entered the crowd and detained several participants of the action. Some people are captured and taken away in armoured cars," one of participants called the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the depth of the action.

"Soon after 11 a.m. we blocked, together with our relatives and fellows villager, the Nazran-Sleptsovsk highway. Other residents of the republic arrived, several hundreds in total. People are sick and tired of this lawlessness, when our relatives are captured, with no trial and inquiry, and then - they disappear without any traces. The authorities must stop it," said Mansur Pliev, Mikail's cousin. "Three members of our family - my brother, my cousin yesterday and one more relative still earlier - were kidnapped."

"No charges were ever presented to him; he's an absolutely peaceful person, an entrepreneur; he has five small children and a pregnant wife. Let them just tell us where he is; and then - let them try him if he's guilty," said Movlatkhan, Mikail Pliev's sister.

Relatives tell that on March 5, at 3 p.m., Mikail Pliev, 33, was on his way to Pyatigorsk with his wife to the marketplace to make shopping. He made a stop, went out of his car and disappeared. Nobody ever saw him again.