In Ingushetia, lawyer Magomed Alamov is being held hostage by relatives of a young woman, Marina Yandieva, who are threatening to kill him if Marina does not return to the family. The lawyer accompanied the girl as she escaped from domestic abuse. This was reported by the Crew Against Torture on October 24.
Marina Yandieva ran away from home on October 5. She was assisted by the Crisis Group of the SK SOS human rights organization. Magomed Alamov from the Crew Against Torture accompanied the girl part of the way. Afterward, he started receiving calls from the Ingush Center "E," demanding that he come in for questioning as a suspect in Yandieva's disappearance.
The girl filed a statement to have herself removed from the wanted list. She explained that she left home of her own will because of mistreatment and violence in her family. When Yandieva called home on October 23, her relatives handed the phone to Magomed Alamov. He said that Yandieva's family had found him and brought him to their home.
"My life and the lives of my relatives are in danger. They have given me an ultimatum: one week for you to return home. If you don't come back this week, they will kill me," the man said.
The girl's relatives confirmed that they were holding Alamov. They offered Marina Yandieva a way to resolve the situation "without consequences for anyone," as Alamov has five children and a father who is seriously ill.
According to the Crew Against Torture, the Yandiev family is influential in Ingushetia and has access to administrative resources. Magomed Alamov has been involved in human rights advocacy in the North Caucasus since 2006. Human rights activists have appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Tatiana Moskalkova, demanding protection for Alamov and his relatives and punishment for those who threatened him.
Russian human rights activists launched an appeal on October 13 to stop the persecution of Russian lawyers. They published a statement on the day when three of Alexey Navalny’s lawyers, Vadim Kobzev, Alexey Lipzer, and Igor Sergunin, were arrested. They have been accused of participation in an "extremist community."
