Human rights activists stood up for the persecuted of batelapine

Russian human rights activists and religious scholars are expressing concern about the harassment against members of religious movements Badalamenti — followers of Islamic Sufi teachings of Sheikh Batal-Hadji Belkharoev, a famous religious figure of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Their views they expressed at the round table in the Moscow office of “Rosbalt”.

As noted, several batelapine arrested in criminal cases — in particular, about the murder of the head of the centre for combating extremism of the MIA of Ingushetia, Ibrahim Alzarqawi and his brother Ahmed, committed in Moscow on 12 January last year.

“More than eight months 12 people languishing in pretrial detention in Moscow on trumped-up charges, none of them questioned during this time”, — expressed his opinion in this regard, the Chairman of the International law Association and the “continental” Nikolay Boyko.

Many guests of the round table noted the lack of evidence charges. “Since the murder develops a violent campaign, which does not fit into the framework of the criminal process, says a member of the Council on human rights (HRC) under the President of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Myslovskogo. Very complicated situation with the definition of the motives of the murder.”

According to Myslovskogo, the investigators on this case explores only one of the versions: that the alleged Badalamenti carried out the blood feud for the murder of one of their spiritual leaders, Ibrahim Belkharoyev committed in 2018. At the same time, develops an opinion Myslovskogo, ignored all other versions, including economic, “related to the redistribution of property”.

“I Have the impression that the investigation is decided at any cost to justify his version. It’s trying to compensate for their helplessness in this way, — said Myslovskogo. By “dragnet”: abandoned, maybe we’ll find something!”

“We are experiencing the same challenges and problems as experienced by our ancestors in the XIX century, in 1920е and 1970-ies, — said a member of the HRC, the Chairman of the Committee “For civil rights” Andrey Babushkin. — We are again confronted with the fact that a particular religious group begins to be seen in the enemy of social order, society and the state.”

“In the history of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and now the Russian Federation relations between state authorities and religious communities has always been difficult, — said the member of the Public chamber of the Chechen Republic Ibragim Arsanov. — Unfortunately, very often perceives the power of a strong social structure, capable and self-sufficient brotherhood as a direct threat to their own authority and the General line”.

Renowned religious scholar Sergei Ivanenko described the movement of batelapine as peaceful and tolerant representatives of Sufism is a very ancient and distinguished directions in Islam that is opposed to Wahhabism.

Guests of the round table expressed the intention to form a recommendation on this issue and send to the HRC and the Commissioner for human rights under the President of the Russian Federation.