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During the closing arguments at the Ustinovsky District Court in Izhevsk, the prosecutor requested eight years in a penal colony for Aynur Karimov and two other defendants in the “Baymak case,” reports the publication Idel.Realii.

The verdict will be announced on 16 June.

The defendants are accused of participating in mass unrest (Part 2, Article 212 of the Russian Criminal Code) and using violence against representatives of the authorities (Part 1, Article 318 of the Criminal Code).

According to the case materials, on 17 January 2024, in the square by the Baymak District Court, Karimov “grabbed the leg of an unidentified law enforcement officer, who had fallen to the ground as a result of actions by other participants in the unrest, and then forcefully tried to pull him out of the cordon.” The prosecution also claims that he threw “chunks of frozen snow” at the security forces at least five times and pushed an OMON officer, causing him to lose balance and fall, “experiencing physical pain.”

Karimov does not admit guilt and has refused to give testimony.

Another defendant is accused of trying to pull a helmet off a National Guard officer, as well as striking a shield and snatching it away, as a result of which the officer “experienced pain.” In one of the initial interrogations, this defendant claimed that they tried to take the shield from the officers so that they would not detain people.

The third defendant, according to the prosecution, kicked and punched a National Guard officer’s shield and knocked a police officer to the ground, after which the latter hit their head.

The trial was held behind closed doors.

Karimov has three sons: the eldest has finished first grade, the middle one attends kindergarten, and the youngest is about a year old. His wife said that since 2015, Karimov has had a spinal hernia, because of which he visited the doctor once a year for an injection of painkiller into the affected area. In 2017, his legs became temporarily paralysed and he was unable to walk for some time.

OVD-Info previously reported in detail on what is happening with those involved in the “Baymak case” and how the criminal prosecution has affected their families.

  • On 17 January 2024, a town gathering was held in support of Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov outside the Baymak District Court, a town in Bashkortostan, where his verdict was being announced. On that day, Alsynov was sentenced to four years in a penal colony under charges of inciting hatred, after he gave a speech at a protest against mining the Irandyk mountain ridge. Several thousand people gathered outside the court. As a result, security forces violently dispersed the protesters, leading at first to a wave of administrative cases and then criminal prosecutions. At least 69 people were jailed on charges of mass unrest. One of them reported being severely beaten while in custody. Another defendant died after being detained—their family were not told the cause of death or given the autopsy report. Yet another protest participant took their own life due to pressure from the security forces.