Analysts point to uniqueness of Barakhoev's hunger strike for Ingushetia

The hunger strike of the elder, Akhmed Barakhoev, at the SIZO (pre-trial prison), where he is kept, is unique in that he, the leader of protests, is demanding to respect not only of his rights, but of the rights of other activists, Magomed Mutsolgov, a rights defender, has stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that three leaders of the protests in Ingushetia ‑ Akhmed Barakhoev, Musa Malsagov, and Barakh Chemurziev were detained after the rally in Magas. Starting from April 3, they are serving 10 days of their administrative arrests in Nalchik. On April 4, Akhmed Barakhoev declared hunger strike demanding a meeting with human rights defenders.

The Barakhoev's hunger strike is unique in that he is a protest leader, Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the "Mashr" human rights centre, believes. "His current position and age make his action different [from usual hunger strikes] and attract much more attention," Mr Mutsolgov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The peculiarity of Barakhoev's hunger strike is that he demands respect for not his rights, but for the rights of other people, Magomed Mutsolgov has noted: "He demands not to fabricate criminal cases against young people. Besides, he appeals not to the authorities, but to rights defenders in the first place. Akhmed stresses that he is hunger-striking just because protesters are being prosecuted," Mr Mutsolgov has explained.

Yuri Kardanov, a political analyst, agrees that Barakhoev's hunger strike is unique: "There were precedents, but only in the 1980s-90s. I don't remember any such hunger strike in Ingushetia," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 10, 2019 at 09:54 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.