Reports from the central Russian Republic of Bashkortostan say about 1,500 protesters gathered in the regional capital, Ufa, on Friday in a rare demonstration to protest the sentencing of activist Fail Alsynov to four year is in prison this week for “inciting ethnic hatred.”
Video taken at the scene in Ufa — about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow — by independent news outlet SOTAvision shows police scuffling with protesters and detaining some during the demonstration. The news outlet reports the protesters sang and danced in freezing weather as they called for Alsynov’s release.
News reports say at least ten people were arrested.
Friday’s protest follows a similar one that took place Wednesday outside the courthouse in Baymak, which is located 412 kilometers (256 miles) south of Ufa, near the border with Kazakstan, where Alsynov was sentenced. Reports from the scene say police used tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters and arrested at least nine people.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports Bashkortostan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs on Thursday issued a warning against “unsanctioned public gatherings and rallies.”
Observers say the protests and rallies in Bashkortostan this week are some of the most significant since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
A prominent activist in Bashkortostan, Alsynov was charged in connection with a speech he gave in April 2023 in which he spoke against gold mining in a mountain considered to be sacred by the Bashkirs, a majority-Muslim people of Turkish descent.
Alsynov has been an active campaigner for the preservation of the Bashkir culture. In the past he has also spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The BBC, citing local journalist Artur Asafyev, reported that authorities are trying to make an example of Alsynov by issuing a sentence tougher than the prosecutor had requested.
The BBC also reported Bashkortostan authorities have opened an investigation into some of those arrested in demonstrations this week, seeking “mass demonstration” charges, which can carry a sentence of 15 years in prison.
Some information for this report was provided by Agence France-Presse.