The sentences of three defendants in the “Baymak case” have been reduced on appeal.

On 6 June, the Orenburg Regional Court reduced the sentences of Aybulat Nigamatov, Murat Bikbulatov and Ilmir Ryskulov, defendants in the “Baymak case,” by three months. They have now been sentenced to four years and nine months in a penal colony, according to Nigamatov’s support group.

The sentences for Denis Ikbaev and Aytugan Abdullin remain unchanged. In February, all five were sentenced to five years each for participating in mass riots (Art. 212, part 2 of the Criminal Code) and for using non-life-threatening violence against public officials (Art. 318, part 1 of the Criminal Code).

The cases of those involved in the people’s gathering are being heard not in Bashkortostan but in neighbouring regions. The prosecutor’s office requested this, arguing that the defendants might exert pressure on trial participants.

• In January 2024, thousands of people gathered outside the court in Baymak, a city in the Republic of Bashkortostan, to support Bashkir activist and former head of the “Bashkort” movement, Fail Alsynov, who was being sentenced that day for a speech at another people’s gathering. Alsynov was then sentenced to four years in a penal colony.
• After the rally outside the court, participants in the gathering began to be detained on administrative charges, and later security forces opened a criminal case over mass riots. At least 69 people were sent to pre-trial detention as part of this case. One of them, Dima Davletkildin, was severely beaten. Another defendant, Rifat Dautov, died after being detained—his family were not told the cause of death and were not provided with the official report. Minniyar Bayguskarov, a protest participant in Baymak, died by suicide due to pressure from law enforcement officers.
• OVD-Info has reported in detail on how law enforcement in Bashkortostan are persecuting those involved in the “Baymak case.”