Residents of Ingushetia complain that their relatives are persecuted in the army

Magomed Mutsolgov, an Ingush human rights activist, a member of the Expert's Board at the Office of Russian Ombudsman, has stated that the cases of prejudiced attitude to natives from Northern Caucasus in army units have become more frequent recently. He told about two complaints lodged by residents of Ingushetia, who are concerned of the fates of their relatives.

On January 21, 2010, a criminal case was opened against Musa Evloev, who is taking his regular military service in the Ivanovo Region, under Article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Extortion").

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Musa Evloev's relatives that the reason of criminal prosecution was his refusal to take part in beating other soldiers; for this reason he had a conflict with an ensign of his military unit.

Initially, certain Ulyanov, deputy commander of the division for educational work, telephoned to Evloev's relatives and said he would not be subjected to criminal liability, promising that only some educational measures will be applied.

Mr Tsurov, Plenipotentiary of President of Ingushetia in the Ivanovo Region, finds the measures applied to Musa Evloev "too severe".

Khalit Balaev, who is serving in the Primorye Territory, has suffered, as his relatives assert, from a forged case that stemmed from officers' enmity to him. On February 18, 2010, Balaev was sentenced by military court to one year and three months of imprisonment in a disciplinary battalion.

Relatives assert that Balaev who was in charge of an on duty unit had a conflict with his subordinate who refused to fulfil Balaev's order. Officers threatened to use physical violence to the soldier and forced him to write a complaint saying that Balaev had beaten him.

Magomed Mutsolgov notes that plenty of complaints arrive from Ingush and Chechen soldiers.

"When you receive so many complaints, you feel that the situation is abnormal. So many people would not complain without due reasons. In recent years we see a lot of injustice regularly applied to Chechens and Ingushes," said the human rights activist.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed at the Ingush Ministry for Interethnic Policy and Public Relations that they also receive complaints from soldiers' relatives. In particular, 6 such applications arrived in the latest 18 months.