Activists treat attempt to detain Dagestani political analyst Khalidov as intimidation

While trying to detain Denga Khalidov, a Dagestani political analyst, before a round table in support of Ramazan Rabadanov, law enforcers wanted to put pressure and intimidate activists.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that residents of Dagestan were outraged by the detention of Ramazan Rabadanov, who used to speak in defence of those accused within the case of riots at the Makhachkala Airport. His son recorded an appeal to President Putin with a request to look into what happened. Rabadanov was arrested for two months. On November 14, law enforcers tried to detain Denga Khalidov, who had organized a round table in Rabadanov's defence.

Khalidov said that law enforcers behaved quite respectfully. According to his story, the summons was hastily drawn up. "Patimat Abdulaeva, an advocate, has explained them that their actions violated the law, despite the fact that they were supposedly representatives of the law ... They had to leave empty-handed. There was no detention as such," he has noted.

Denga Khalidov is sure that the attempt to detain him was aimed at scaring activists. "This is an attempt to intimidate me and others. They think that they can stop us with such actions. But this is not so. We'll continue fighting for Rabadanov's freedom," he has stated.

According to Patimat Abdulaeva, a lawyer and human rights defender, the criminal prosecution of Rabadanov is injustice, and if it is not stopped, then any public figure could become a victim of lawlessness. She also did not rule out that she could be fired.

Magomed Shamilov, the Chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Internal Affairs and Prosecutor's Office Workers, who is one of the signatories of the appeal in Rabadanov's defence, believes that the public outcry in Dagestan can change the situation.