Ingush oppositionist Magomed Khazbiev set free

Magomed Khazbiev, sentenced for insulting Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Evkurov and illegal arms trafficking, left a penal colony. He was met by his friends and relatives.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 27, 2018, the court sentenced oppositionist Magomed Khazbiev to two years and 11 months of imprisonment. On February 26, 2019, the Supreme Court (SC) of Ingushetia found Magomed Khazbiev not guilty of inciting hatred and commuted his sentence to 2 years and 8 months of imprisonment. The Court ignored the arguments proving that Magomed Khazbiev was completely not guilty and reduced his imprisonment term insignificantly, the defence states.

Magomed Khazbiev was accused of illegal possession of weapons after searches in his house in Nazran in January 2015. After that he left for Chechnya, where he lived for several years, being under the government protection. He was arrested upon his return to his homeland in January 2018. The charge of illegal possession of weapons was accompanied by new accusations of insulting a public officer Yunus-Bek Evkurov, who was then leader of the republic and inciting hatred towards a certain social group.

Let us remind you that the accusation of insulting Yunus-Bek Evkurov is related to an interview with Magomed Khazbiev, published on YouTube in 2015. According to the oppositionist, the charge is based on an incorrect translation of some words from his speech. In the video, Magomed Khazbiev distorted the Yunus-Bek Evkurov's name by inserting into it words from prison jargon, terms hinting at mental inferiority and animal designations, and also called the leader of Ingushetia an "enemy of the people and God."