More than 200 residents of Bashkortostan gathered in support of an activist facing trial following a denunciation by the Republic's head, Radiy Khabirov. They recorded a video appeal to Vladimir Putin, which was published in the 'Kushtau Bairam' Telegram group on December 20.
The second court hearing for Fail Alsynov began on December 20. Alsynov, who previously spoke against gold mining in the Baymaksky District, is accused of inciting hatred or enmity due to his speech at a meeting in the Ishmurzino village (Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The complaint against the activist was filed with the prosecutor's office by Radiy Khabirov, the head of the Bashkortostan Republic. Alsynov claims that his words, originally spoken in Bashkir, were misinterpreted by the prosecutor and the head of the local Investigative Committee. For example, one of his phrases was translated into Russian as 'our land, our people have been extinguished for centuries,' when in fact it means 'our country has been suppressed for centuries.'
Approximately 200 residents of Bashkortostan gathered at the court building to support Fail Alsynov. In their appeal to Vladimir Putin, they stated that mistakes made by Radiy Khabirov had led to a deterioration in the demographic situation, corruption, and insufficient development of infrastructure and the local standard of living.
"Instead of solving problems, Radiy Khabirov refuses to listen to local citizens and prosecutes activists, considering them enemies of the state," said the authors of the video.
They urged Putin to stop the persecution of activists in Bashkortostan and the falsification of criminal cases.
Since April, residents of the Baymaksky District have been holding meetings against gold mining on the Irandyk mountain range. They were concerned that 'barbarian mining methods' would destroy the local environment. In early May, residents of the Ishmurzino village independently re-elected the settlement head. The organizers were later accused of acting arbitrarily and faced legal consequences.
In May, locals filmed a video appeal addressed to the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, and eventually forced him to open a criminal case on the violation of environmental legislation. After mass protests, gold mining in the area was stopped.
