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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia | |
| State Accused of Backing Mistreatment of Muslims | |
| 2009-03-16 | |
| Two activists accused the government on Friday of encouraging prosecutors to target Muslims on trumped-up charges of terrorism and extremism and said the abuse could lead to anti-government unrest. Sergei Komkov, president of the nongovernmental All-Russian Education Fund, asserted that the Kremlin was trying to pin social ills on innocent Muslims and warned that it could backfire against President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. "There threatens to be a powerful explosion of public discontent in the next three or four years that could, if not stopped, lead to a change in the political leadership," Komkov said at a news conference attended by prominent rights activists. Komkov said authorities are increasingly convicting observant Muslims on trumped-up charges of terrorism and extremism in an effort to satisfy what he claimed were quotas from the central government.
Isa Betsiyev, 40, a businessman and Muslim from the city of Kaluga, said he has been harassed repeatedly by the counterterrorism branch of the Federal Security Services. "They burst into my home in masks and flash some card at me. They collect my books [on Islam] and call me an extremist," Betsiyev told the news conference. "This is how they make their money. This is how they justify their income." Komkov said Betsiyev's story was typical. Ignorance of Islam as a peaceful religion helps authorities scapegoat Muslims, activists said. | |
| Posted by: |
| #1 Double order of polonium, please. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-03-16 05:11 |