Yesterday we wrote about a new wave of repression in Ingushetia (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=38016). However, we must be fair — yesterday the Ingush people were not only imprisoned, but also released. The only question is who…
So, yesterday it became known that the Tagilstroevsky district court of Nizhny Tagil decided to release Timur Khamkhoev from prison and to replace his remaining sentence of almost three years in a penal colony with forced labor, which can usually be performed at the place of residence.
Who is Timur Khamkhoev, and why are the authorities showing him leniency, unlike the Ingush political prisoners, whose list is growing? We have written about him before (https://golosislama.com/news.php?id=34524) — he is a former head of the Ingush CPE (known as Estapo), convicted of proven torture to death and falsification of criminal cases. He is the only case among the leaders of this organization, which has become the basis for black humor such as «expelled from a brothel for debauchery» or «expelled from the SS for anti-Semitism», and so on.
At the time, many protests were needed to condemn Khamkhoev, including from the victims of his torture conveyor. Therefore, when the news of his imminent release became known yesterday, causing protests, the Nizhny Tagil Prosecutor’s Office announced that it would appeal the decision.
But will they succeed? As you know, our court is independent of the prosecutor’s office… when necessary and for those who need it. Therefore, what decision it will make in such a situation is still a question, unlike the decisions that can be predicted in advance regarding political prisoners. Moreover, the Nizhny Tagil court has already shown leniency in similar cases, twice in relation to Khamkhoev’s colleagues who were also convicted in the same case and for the same reasons — Magomed Bekov and Andrei Beznosyuk.
In this regard, the leading website of the Ingush opposition, the Sixth Portal, reacted to these events with a very precise and biting article entitled «In Moscow — Golunov, and here — Khamkhoev» (http://6portal.ru/posts/%d0%b2-%d0%bc%d0%be%d1%81%d0%ba%d0%b2%d0%b5-%d0%b3%d0%be%d0%bb%d1%83%d0%bd%d0%be%d0%b2-%d0%b0-%d1%83-%d0%bd%d0%b0%d1%81-%d1%85%d0%b0%d0%bc%d1%85%d0%be%d0%b5%d0%b2/).
«What do the former head of the Ingush CPE Timur Khamkhoev and the Moscow journalist Ivan Golunov have in common? Both were eventually released. What makes them different? If Khamkhoev was involved in torture, Golunov was framed, and if he was not tortured, he was subjected to psychological and physical pressure.
Another interesting point is that in order for Golunov to be released, thousands of people had to mobilize, taking to the streets and organizing flash mobs. However, Khamkhoev was released even though no one protested in his support — on the contrary, at one point it took protests to ensure that he was even brought to trial….
The lawlessness of civil society in Ingushetia in the face of political repression and extrajudicial killings, on the one hand, and the impunity of those in power who commit such acts, on the other, are the priorities of power in our republic,» the article reads.
There’s nothing more to add.