Circassian activists announce fundraising to hire defender for Ruslan Gvashev

Circassian activists have created an initiative group and announced a fundraising to hire an advocate to challenge the court's decision to impose a fine on Ruslan Gvashev for his participation in a prayer on the Circassian Memorial Day.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on June 2, the Lazarevskoe District Court of Sochi found Ruslan Gvashev, the former chairman of the Council of Elders of Circassian Shapsugs, guilty of organizing an unsanctioned action on the Circassian Memorial Day and fined him 10,000 roubles. Ruslan Gvashev himself has claimed that he was forcibly brought to court in a state of hypertensive crisis.

According to Olga Efendieva-Begret, a co-founder of the "Ochag" (Heartland) Foundation created to help compatriots, Circassian Shapsugs of the Krasnodar Territory and various cities of Russia traditionally "gather on May 21 near the Tulip tree in the village of Golovinka without prior notification."

However, the Lazarevskoe District Court of Sochi has finally "pronounced an absurd decision that shocked the Circassian public activists," Olga Efendieva-Begret noted.

According to the human rights defenders, activist Adam Basto was also brought to administrative responsibility for the participation in the prayer on the Circassian Memorial Day. He was detained for distributing national dishes near the Tulip tree. He was fined, the "Kavkaz.Realii" reports.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.