Makhachkala residents state that policemen disrupted anti-corruption rally

Eight persons, who had intended to take part in the rally, were detained in Makhachkala. The rally itself was in fact disrupted – activists were detained immediately after they took out their posters. The authorities ignore anti-corruption demands, residents of Dagestan have complained.

Earlier, in Makhachkala, policemen detained Magomed Bagomedov, one of the organizers of the rally, who tried to start the event and deployed a black-and-red flag. Also, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was attacked by unidentified persons, who damaged his video camera.

In the afternoon, about 20 people, mostly young ones, gathered in the place, where the rally had been planned. They stood without posters and did not shout any slogans. However, four guys approached them and began pushing them out of the place. They behaved rudely and knocked out mobile phones out of hands.

Journalists tried to film the incident. The attackers began beating on the tablet of journalist Aida Mirmaksumova. Saida Vagabova, a journalist of the "Chernovik" (Draft) weekly, and her colleagues Bariyat Idrissova had their phones kicked out of their hands.

Policemen did not try to stop the attackers.

In total, about a hundred people gathered at the venue of the rally. Eight people were taken to police stations, said the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Dagestan.

"I came to the rally, because I hate the lawlessness reigning in Dagestan. Everywhere they claim bribes; and the authorities pay no attention to this," said Ali, a resident of Dagestan.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.