Zaurbek Dzaurov, convicted within case of Ingush protests, released

Zaurbek Dzaurov, a resident of Ingushetia, convicted within the case of mass protests in Magas, has been released from SIZO (pre-trial prison).

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Dzaurov had been put on the wanted list on suspicion of using violence at the rally in Magas, where people protested against the new borders with Chechnya. He was detained on March 7, 2020. On June 7, he was sentenced to two years in prison. According to the prosecution, at the rally on March 27, 2019, in Magas, he broke the nose and a leg of a "Rosgvardia" (Russian National Guard) serviceman. Besides, Dzaurov used violence against three other law enforcers. The court noted that Dzaurov was guided by political motives, which is an aggravating circumstance.

Dzaurov has been released with account of the time that he had spent at the SIZO after his arrest, his advocate Khusein Guliev told the edition named "Fortanga".

Mr Guliev told that his client didn't agree with the part of the accusation – about his political motives. But because of a possible protraction of sentencing, they decided not to challenge this charge. The advocate has added that his client felt good and had no complaints about the custody conditions.

Earlier, the advocate had stated that Dzaurov was not at the rally on March 26 and at night on March 27; he came to the rally occasionally.