Relatives and colleagues considered the deprivation of Akhmed Pogorov's titles to be a cowardice

The court that sentenced Akhmed Pogorov, co-chair of the World Congress of the Ingush People, to nine years in prison on charges of organizing violence at a rally in Magas, stripped him of his well-deserved titles and awards, but this did not affect the attitude of the residents of Ingushetia towards him.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in November, a court in Nalchik announced the verdict in closed session for Akhmed Pogorov, co-chair of the World Congress of the Ingush People, sentencing him to nine years in prison on charges of organizing violence at a rally in Magas and participating in an extremist group. Pogorov suffers from coronary heart disease, and the medical unit at the detention center where he is being held lacks the equipment to provide emergency care in the event of an exacerbation of his illness, his lawyer previously stated. Pogorov's family and friends have complained that they have been denied access to him for an extended period.

Akhmed Pogorov's sentence will be appealed, and if the appeal results in no change to his sentence, he will have two years left to serve, a source close to the defense told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Akhmed Pogorov's lawyers are currently declining to provide detailed comments to the media.

Akhmed Pogorov remains in pretrial detention and has no specific complaints about the conditions of his detention, according to his older brother, Magomed Pogorov.

"In February, it will be five years since he's been in pretrial detention. His health, at the time of the sentencing, was fine; he was holding up well. He receives regular food parcels and medical care. We haven't been allowed to see each other; we've only seen each other at court hearings, where we've only managed to talk for 5-10 minutes. The last time was on November 20th," he said.

Pogorov's brother is surprised by the harsh sentence. "After all, he was charged as a participant, not an organizer. And of course, the situation itself—that a man who stood up for the law ended up outside the law—is sad. All of this, of course, as you know, is fabricated. A man who did not tarnish the honor of an officer and his epaulettes has today, unfortunately, suffered the fate of nine years in prison. Furthermore, the judge, imagine, deprived his brother of the ranks he earned in blood," Magomed Pogorov lamented.

He recalled that Akhmed Pogorov served in the border area during the two Chechen wars. "He began his service as an investigator in North Ossetia, and after the infamous events of 1992, he continued as an investigator here, in the newly formed region of Ingushetia. Since 1995, he headed the Karabulak Department of Internal Affairs, and his professional qualities led to his promotions. He served twice as minister, then as head of the republic's Ministry of Internal Affairs, and subsequently worked in the central office of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was awarded the Order of Courage for the arrest of a particularly dangerous criminal, during which he was wounded. He suffered for the truth, demanding nothing for himself. He uncovered large-scale embezzlement of budget funds, amounting to tens of billions. "And suddenly, all of this is crossed out, they strip him of his titles, it's all written off. But he still holds on," said Magomed Pogorov.

Human rights activist Magomed Mutsolgov believes the sentence against Akhmed Pogorov—like all the other defendants in the criminal case regarding the Magas rallies—is unfair, politically biased, and illegal.

"The sentence for completely innocent people was legally legitimized on a political whim. They were jailed and deprived of their freedom—only because those in power wanted to demonstrate their superiority over the law in the country and demonstrate to the people that anyone who disagrees with their illegal, anti-people decisions will be punished," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The human rights activist had previously predicted that Akhmed Pogorov's sentence would be harsh. "I thought everything was heading toward him getting eight or nine years, knowing how unfair it was and realizing that Akhmed could be punished more severely. I'm very sorry, I'm disappointed with what's happening, but I wasn't surprised by this sentence," Mutsolgov said.

The fact that Akhmed Pogorov was a police officer and once held high positions negatively impacted the sentence, the human rights activist believes.

“The generals in power thought they could issue orders—and anyone was simply obligated to go against their people, regardless of whether those orders were legal or not. Everyone in uniform must obey their superiors, without questioning orders or considering the law. But Akhmed chose neither his career nor personal gain, but to stand by his people. Furthermore, Akhmed was stripped of his rank and medals, which is not only illegal, it’s vile. With this approach, the judges themselves could fall prey to this system and be stripped of their regalia. In any case, everyone will be held accountable to the Almighty for their actions and words, whether they believe it or not,” Mutsolgov said.

According to him, Pogorov’s sentence will not change the attitude toward him in Ingushetia. "I don't know what the stripping of his title and awards means to Akhmed. Of course, there's a bitter taste. But in the eyes of the people, all these titles are worthless; he remains a worthy son of the Ingush people. And reading the comments, I see that the vast majority write that it's better to be a true man and a son of his people than to have all the world's awards, no matter what they may be. In any case, he has the respect and support of his people," Mutsolgov concluded. Seven Ingush activists were charged with creating and participating in an extremist group. In December 2021, a court sentenced Akhmed Barakhoyev, Musa Malsagov, and Malsag Uzhakhov to nine years in prison; Ismail Nalgiev, Bagaudin Khautiev, and Barakh Chemurziev to eight years; and Zarifa Sautieva to seven and a half years. The defense of those convicted in the Ingush case filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of Russia. An appeal of the verdict was filed to obtain a lifting of the restrictions in effect after his release, but the court refused to accept the appeal. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report, "The Main Thing About the Case of the Ingush Protest Leaders".

On March 26, 2019, a large rally, sanctioned by the authorities, took place in Magas. It was permitted to continue until the evening, but protesters remained overnight. The following morning, March 27, 2019, security forces used force against the protesters.

Akhmed Pogorov became the eighth defendant in the "Ingush Case" to be sentenced to a long prison term. Over the past year, Zarifa Sautieva, Ismail Nalgiev, Bagaudin Khautiev, and Barakh Chemurziev have been released from prison. Sautieva and Nalgiev celebrated their wedding after their release. Malsag Uzhakhov, Akhmed Barakhoev, and Musa Malsagov remain in prison.