Eyewitnesses report mass detentions near Makhachkala mosque

Law enforcers stopped believers near the "Tangim" Mosque and took them away, reports one of the visitors of the mosque. At least ten people were taken to a police station, stated journalist Idris Yusupov.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today, Idris Yusupov, a correspondent of the Dagestani newspaper "Novoye Delo" (New Cause), has reported about his detention during a raid conducted by law enforcers in the area of the "Tangim" Mosque in Makhachkala.

Idris Yusupov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he was detained after he started photographing the detentions of believers near the mosque located in Omarov Street. According to him, the policemen took at least ten believers away with them.

Ali, one of the visitors to the "Tangim" Mosque, also stated that he saw how his colleagues had been taken away. "I saw how the policemen took them away. Idris Yusupov was also taken away by the policemen," Ali told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to Idris Yusupov, the policemen took him to the police station. "The policemen drew reports stating that I allegedly wanted to hand over those photos with law enforcers to terrorists," he said. In turn, Idris Yusupov filed a complaint addressed to the chief of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), in which he stated that the law enforcers had prevented him from fulfilling his journalistic duties. According to Idris Yusupov, after that, the chief of the MIA's department approached him, said that a misunderstanding had occurred. The police official confirmed that the journalist was free.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 28, 2019 at 04:31 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.