Dismissals of missing athlete Tsomartova’s parents highlight vulnerability of people to law enforcement bodies

The parents of athlete Anna Tsomartova, who went missing in Kaspiysk, have been dismissed from their jobs at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Among the reasons for their dismissal, sources mention the parents’ criticism of the investigative bodies and their unwillingness to enter into conflict with the FSB.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Nikolai Tsomartov was dismissed for violating ethics after he criticized the law enforcement bodies of Dagestan for the ineffective investigation into his daughter’s disappearance. Nikolai Tsomartov considered his dismissal humiliating and unlawful. The man filed an appeal against his dismissal, but the court refused to reinstate him. On December 13, a mother of Anna Tsomartova complained that she was threatened with dismissal from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for criticizing the law enforcement bodies. In March, it became known that Diana Tsomartova had resigned from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The parents of Anna Tsomartova could be dismissed because of their criticism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, agrees MIA’s Colonel Amir Kolov.

“I personally was also persecuted because of my criticism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ activities in combating extremism, as a result of which my superiors committed numerous official forgeries against me,” Amir Kolov stated.

The former police officer claimed that instead of admitting the mistakes made, the Ministry of Internal Affairs prefers to squeeze a person out of its system.

The key role in the dismissal of the Anna Tsomartova’s parents is in the fact that the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not tolerate criticism, emphasizes political analyst Ruslan Totrov. In addition, the parents of Anna Tsomartova asked the FSB many questions, as their daughter was last seen near the FSB’s restricted area, the political analyst noted.

In Northern Caucasus, investigations into disappearances of people are often conducted in a very formal manner, and the circumstances of the person’s disappearance are unimportant, believes human rights defender Magomed Mutsolgov. He suggests that MIA’s officials and the whole agency do not like when their employees become active. Meanwhile, the Anna Tsomartova’s parents cannot be called opponents of the authorities, the human rights defender has added.

Magomed Mutsolgov doubts that Anna Tsomartova will be found alive.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs does not inform people about the progress of the search on its own initiative, notes Milrad Fatulaev, the editor-in-chief of the RIA “Derbent” regional news agency.