Law enforcement agents in central Russia’s republic of Bashkortostan have detained several allies of activist Fayil Alsynov, who stands trial this week on charges of inciting ethnic hatred, according to the local Telegram channel.
The detentions come amid unconfirmed reports that the Kremlin may have authorized regional law enforcement agencies to “use force” against protesters.
Thousands gathered in the town of Baymak on Monday to support Alsynov, who is accused of inciting ethnic hatred against migrant workers at a rally last year.
A Baymak court was scheduled to issue a verdict against the activist on Monday but postponed the ruling until Wednesday amid the protests.
According to Kushtau Bayram, the Federal Security Service (FSB) took activists Ilnar Galin and Yulay Aralbayev into custody on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re summoning you to the FSB,” a plainclothes police officer could be heard telling Galin in a video that the activist recorded at his home.
An hour later, the Kushtau Bayram Telegram channel, which shared the video, said police detained activist Fanzil Akhmetshin in Bashkortostan’s capital of Ufa, as well as another activist, Ildar Yumagulov, in Baymak.
The news website RusNews reported that another Bashkir activist Rafail Abdrakhmanov was detained earlier on Tuesday.
Amid the reported detentions, Russian authorities added Alsynov to a registry of “extremists and terrorists,” according to the regional news website Idel.Realii, an affiliate of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).
Prosecutors have asked the Baymak court to sentence Alsynov to four years in jail on the charges of inciting ethnic hatred.
Alsynov was among a group of activists who in 2020 protested against limestone mining on a “sacred” hill in Bashkortostan called Kushtau. Authorities suspended the mining operation there following clashes between activists and security personnel.