Ingush activists report threats after refusal from psychiatric examination

Seven Ingush protest leaders, suspected of calling for mass riots, refused to undergo a psychological and psychiatric examination in Stavropol. The activists were threatened that next time such examinations would be appointed in a region still farther from the SIZO (pre-trial prison), said the advocate.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 17 and 18, the seven arrested leaders of the Ingush protests were taken to the Stavropol Psychiatric Hospital for examination.

Today, Malsag Uzhakhov, the head of the Council of Teips of Ingushetia, told the advocate Djabrail Kuriev, who visited him, that upon arrival in Stavropol, the activists were invited one by one into the doctor's office. "All the activists refused to pass the examination," Djabrail Kuriev quoted Mr Uzhakhov as saying.

The advocate has noted that the psychological and psychiatric examination is not on the list of mandatory forensic examinations. "The defence assumes that initially this examination was appointed in order to justify the charge; and the outcome of the examination, in our opinion, was already predetermined. This, in particular, was confirmed also by Malsag. They were too insistent on conducting this examination. They assured that in case of refusal the examination all the same will be appointed, but for this purpose they will now be taken either to Rostov or to Krasnodar; and such a long travel will negatively affect the health of the protest leaders. But none of the activists has changed their minds," Mr Kuriev has stressed.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 21, 2019 at 06:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.