Yavgastin Aysuvak Khalyafovich

On January 17, 2023, the Baymak District Court sentenced Bashkir activist and former leader of the Bashkort movement, Fail Alsynov, to four years in a general regime colony under the article on inciting hatred or enmity. On the eve of the verdict, about 10,000 people gathered in front of the courthouse in Baymak. After the verdict was announced, protests broke out: people chanted demands to release Alsynov and blocked the road to the convoy vehicle. Security forces began detaining people, pushing the crowd back with shields, knocking them down and dragging them through the snow, and beating protesters with batons. The police used tear gas and flashbang grenades. In response, snowballs were thrown at them. Several protesters were hospitalized. More than 100 participants in the gathering were administratively arrested for disobeying police officers or violating the rules for holding rallies. To disperse the protesters in Baymak, the authorities deployed more than a thousand police officers and Russian National Guard troops (including OMON riot police from other regions). Following the protests, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Bashkortostan opened a criminal case under articles on organizing and participating in mass riots, as well as on the use of violence against law enforcement officers.