Advocates report severe custody conditions of Ingush activists at SIZO

The cells of the SIZO (pre-trial prison), where leaders of the Ingush protest movement, accused of creating an extremist community, are kept, are cold; they are brought to court sessions from Pyatigorsk to Essentuki in narrow booths, their advocates assert.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the case of seven Ingush protest leaders accused of creating an extremist community, is being considered since November 24, 2020, at the Essentuki City Court of the Stavropol Territory.

On January 19, 2021, a session on the "Ingush case" was held at the Essentuki City Court, Magomed Bekov, the advocate for Musa Malsagov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Three witnesses were questioned; they all spoke in favour of our clients. So far, there was not a single witness to testify in support of the prosecution's version," he has stated.

Mr Bekov has added that neither his client nor other defendants put forward any complaints. "They will not complain. They try to look cheerful, but it is clear that they are tired. It's all very hard – they are transported from Pyatigorsk to Essentuki in narrow booths, sized 70 by 70 (centimetres); it's 40 kilometres to and fro; it's cold in prison trucks that drive on ice," said the advocate.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 20, 2021 at 04:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.