In Baymak, two students were detained for allegedly posting on “VKontakte”

In the city of Baimak in Bashkortostan, law enforcement officers detained two students of the Ufa Fuel and Energy College, allegedly for some posts in VKontakte. This is reported by RusNews.

According to eyewitnesses, on January 18, about 15 people in uniform came to the college and detained two students – Vilnur and Gaziz. It is not yet known what exactly the students are suspected of. According to the students themselves, the detentions are connected with the previous day’s protests in Baymak.

On Wednesday, a protest action continued for several hours at the courthouse in Baymak, where the indictment of eco-activist Fail Alsynov was handed down in the morning. Several thousand people demanded the release of the defender of Mount Kushtau, who was sentenced to four years in prison.

The police used tear gas and stun grenades, beat the demonstrators with batons. As a result of the action, several dozen people were detained. About twenty participants of the protest sought medical help.

The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under the articles of organization and participation in mass riots, as well as the use of violence against representatives of the authorities.

The head of Bashkortostan, Rady Khabirov, commenting on the clashes between supporters of Alsynov and the police at the courthouse in Baymak, said that he would not “tolerate extremism and attempts to destabilize the situation” and would show the true face of the organizers.

Actions in support of Alsynov took place in Baymake for several days. Yesterday, the Kirovsky district court of Ufa arrested six activists for the action on January 15. They were found guilty of participating in an unauthorized rally.

• Kushtau defender Fail Alsynov was accused of inciting hatred or enmity. He does not admit guilt. Previously, Alsynov headed the “Bashkort” organization, which in 2020 the Russian authorities recognized as extremist and banned its activities on the territory of the country. The head of Bashkortostan, Rady Khabirov, demanded that the activist be brought to criminal responsibility for “carrying out extremist activities” and “calling for anti-state demonstrations.”

• In 2018, Shikhan (Mountain) Kushtau was handed over to the Bashkir soda company for lime extraction, local residents began to speak out against this decision. After the actions, many activists who spoke in defense of Kushtau were brought to administrative and criminal responsibility.