News
The Central District Court of Togliatti found Khalid Ishkuvatov guilty of participating in mass riots and of using violence against a police officer. The verdict was reported by the independent publication Idel.Realii, which cited Ishkuvatov's relatives.
Aside from Ishkuvatov, two more defendants in the so-called “Baymak case” — Ilfat Ishmuratov and Zakir Kulmukhametov — were handed sentences. Nothing is yet known about the punishment imposed on them.
After Ishkuvatov's arrest, his wife Zalia was left alone with three children to provide for.
In January 2024, mass protests erupted in the town of Baymak in Bashkortostan after the sentencing of environmental activist Fayil Alsynov. Alsynov had spoken out against mining practices in the region and in 2020 played a major role in protests against the development of the Kushtau Shikhan chalk hill. Alsynov was sentenced to four years in a penal colony for “inciting ethnic hatred.” Residents of Bashkortostan gathered outside the courthouse for several days and demanded the release of the activist.
The authorities treated the resulting clashes with police officers as “mass riots” and opened dozens of criminal cases against the participants. Today’s development is the second publicly known sentence handed down to a defendant in the “Baymak case.” This past July, 50-year-old farmer Ilshat Ulyabaev was sentenced to five years in a penal colony.
In total, more than 80 people were formally accused of participation in “mass riots,” according to the independent outlet Gorizontalnaya Rossiya.