UPDATE: Journalists Covering Ingushetia Protests Detained, Beaten

By Brent Surgeoner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Europe

NAZRAN, Russia – A journalist and photographer were detained and allegedly abused by police officers while covering a protest in the Russian republic of Ingushetia over the weekend.

Mustafa Kirkiyev, a reporter for Zhizn newspaper and Said-Khussein Tsarnayev, a freelance photographer were charged with setting fire to the Hotel Serdalo, which they happened to be photographing from their vehicle at the time of their arrest.

According to Kirkiyev, the police pulled them out of their car and began unleashing blows.  He suffered injuries from the beating that required medical attention from his cell later that evening.

Reuters reports that the two appeared in court and received fines for breaching public order, after which the judge ordered them set free.  However, police did not release them.

Other journalists and human rights activists were also detained during the protest, including Radio Free Europe journalist Danila Galperovich, two correspondents from Russian radio entity Ekho Moskvy, Roman Plyussov and Vladimir Varfolomeyez, and two activists from human rights group Memorial, Yekaterina Sokiriaskaya and Timur Akiyev.

Galperovich said that he was trying to find out information on casualties when he was arrested.  “When I introduced myself to the police officers, they, without any comment, took away all my belongings and detained me . . .,” he said.

Ingushetia deputy state prosecutor Genali Merjuyev denied that any journalists had been arrested on Saturday.  Rather, he said the journalists were escorted out of an anti-terrorist operation to a nearby building to confirm their identities.

After twenty hours in detention, the majority of journalists were escorted by armed interior ministry troops to the North Ossetia border.

The protests were staged by opponents of local leader Marat Zyazikov over allegations of election rigging in December’s parliamentary elections.  The pro-Kremlin United Russia received 99 percent of the vote in that election.

The protest turned violent quickly after the 1,000 who gathered were denied access to the central square by riot police.  In response, protestors attacked police with stones and Molotov cocktails.

After firing warning shots, the police dispersed the crowd with tear gas, handguns, and brute force.

Violence has been escalating in recent months in the Muslim region of Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya.  Russian forces have been seeking to rid the region of Islamic militants.  Locals claim Russian forces have been carrying out abductions, beatings and arrests throughout the region.

Journalists have complained of news bans and intimidation in the area.

On January 25, areas of Ingushetia were declared “counterterrorism zones” by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS), thereby allowing forces to take advantage of emergency powers.

For more information, please see:

Reporters Without Borders - Russia: several journalists held illegally by police in Ingushetia - 28 January 2008

Reuters - Russian police beat, detain journalists in Ingushetia - 27 January 2008

Radio Free Europe - Russia: Security Forces Violently Disperse Protest In Ingushetia - 26 January 2008

Impunity Watch - BRIEF: Violence Erupts in Ingushetia - 26 January 2008