Several thousands of citizens participated in demonstrations which took place in Russian Republic of Bashkortostan on the Volga River, protesting for imprisonment of the environmental activist Fail Alsimovaccording to media reports.
THE police used tear gas and globes to disperse the protesters. Videos posted on social media show people shouting “gas” and walking away. Another video shows police attacking the crowd with globes, while in a third a woman criticizes the police asking to stop beating a protester which had fallen to the ground.
THE Alsinovas reported by APE-MPE, was convicted to four years in prison today on the charge that insulted migrant workers in a speech he delivered in April 2023 during a demonstration about gold mining plans in a region of Bashkortostan
His supporters said the case against him was delayed revenge for his role in protests several years earlier in which activists successfully blocked plans to mine sodium carbonate on a hill that locals consider sacred.
“A big thank you to everyone who came to support me. I will never forget this. I do not admit my guilt. I have always fought for justicefor my people, for my democracy,” Alsinov told online media outlet RusNews after the verdict.
One of the largest demonstrations in Russia since the war with Ukraine
More than 3,000 people gathered outside the court building in the small town of Baimak to show their support for Alsimov, according to the independent Vorstka website.
Bashkortostan is located 1,440 kilometers east of Moscow. It is an oil-producing region with 4.1 million inhabitants and one of the 80 administrative entities that make up the Russian Federation.
Observers reported that Today's protest is one of the largest in Russia since Russia's war in Ukraine began.about two years ago.
The protesters chanted the slogan “Freedom to Alsimov” demanding the resignation of local governor Rabii Khabirov, at whose request the environmental activist's trial began.
A video by Ostorozhno Novosti shown by media shows security forces using force to disperse the crowd. Several protesters were arrested.
Who is File Alsimov?
Alsinov was one of them leaders of the protests against limestone mining at Mount Kustau in Bashkortostan for the chemical plant located in the area.
During the demonstrations, Koustau was declared as one protected natural monument in 2020. At the same time, the 37-year-old activist launched a campaign demanding greater autonomy for the Republic of Bashkortostan and the protection of the Bashkir language.
The organization Baskort, which he leads, was classified as extremist and banned in 2020.
In late 2023, Alsinov was fined for a post on the Russian social media site Vkontakte. The same had characterized the war in Ukraine “as a 'genocide against the people of Bashkiria'” and he had written that “this is not our war”.
According to media reports the region of Bashkortostan is one of the regions of Russia which has exceeded the average in human losses in the war in Ukraine.
Mass demonstrations in Russia are exceedingly rare because of the risk of arrest associated with any gathering that the authorities deem unsanctioned.
Thousands of people have been arrested in the last two years for opposing the war in Ukraine.
Source: News Beast
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