Thousands of people gathered at the court building where the case of defense attorney Kushtau is being heard

In Bashkortostan, thousands of people came to the building of the Baimak district court, where closed hearings are held in the case of the defender of Shikhan Kushtau Fail Alsynov. This was reported by the Kushtau Bayram Telegram channel and RusNews.

According to “Kushtau Bairam” calculations, about five thousand people came to the court on January 15: half of them were on the street and about the same number were in cars. In the video, people occupy the entire space in front of the courthouse. The activist who spoke at the spontaneous rally reported that 15 thousand people had gathered at the court, reports “Agentstvo”. The publication cannot independently confirm this figure.

Those gathered chanted: “Freedom to File Alsynov!”, “File, we are with you!”, “We are simple people!”, “There will be more of us!”. The participants of the spontaneous action also recorded an appeal to President Vladimir Putin, in which they demanded the resignation of the head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Radiya Khabirov.

• Alsynov is accused of inciting hatred or enmity. According to the investigation, at an assembly of citizens in the village of Ishmurzyno in the Baimak district, held on April 28, 2023, Alsynov “gave a speech in the Bashkir language, containing statements in which groups of people are negatively evaluated… – “inhabitants of the Caucasus”, “Central Asia”, “Armenians”, as well as humiliation of their human dignity”, reports “Idel.Realii”.
• The criminal case against the activist was initiated at the request of the head of Bashkortostan, Rady Khabirov. The head of the region demanded that Alsynov be held criminally and administratively responsible for “inciting inter-ethnic strife”, “calling for anti-state protests” and “extremist activities”, as well as for “discrediting the Armed Forces of Russia”.
• The activist called Radiya Khabirov’s appeal to the Investigative Committee a “denunciation” and in an “open letter” to the head of the republic, he denied all accusations.
• Alsynov previously headed the “Bashkort” organization, which was recognized as extremist in 2020. The court banned her activities in Russia.
• The maximum penalty under the incriminating article of Alsynov is five years of imprisonment. The state prosecution asked to appoint defender Kushtau four years of imprisonment in a colony-settlement. The verdict is scheduled for January 17.
• In 2018, Shikhan 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.