The criminal case against Magomed-Bashir Kalimatov, the former head of the federal postal service of Ingushetia and the older brother of the current head of the republic, Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov, has been submitted to the Cherkessk City Court. Other defendants include the former heads of Russian Post in Ingushetia and the Pension Fund—Kambulat Sukiyev and Islam Seinaroyev, respectively—and 25 others.
The Azerbaijan People’s Front Party and the National Council of Democratic Forces had called on the international community to take action against the authorities. They were accused of political repression and regular human rights violations.
The appeal states that in the last month alone, 14 socio-political activists were sentenced to 30 days of administrative arrest. The number of political prisoners in Azerbaijan sentenced to terms exceeded 100. One of them, Zamin Salaev, was again prosecuted and sentenced to three months' imprisonment. The life of public activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, who is starving for 45 days in protest of his arrest and slander, is in danger.
«Targeted sanctions are needed against Azerbaijani officials involved in human rights violations and arrests of activists,» the authors of the appeal summarized.