The prison sentence of the person convicted in the “Baymak case” has been replaced with compulsory labour.

On 29 December, the court replaced the remainder of the 59-year-old Fatikh Akhmetshin’s sentence in a general regime penal colony with compulsory labour. Idel.Realii reports this, citing a Bashkortostan activist who requested anonymity, and a closed channel of Akhmetshin’s support group.

“Apparently, he’s in the city of Salavat, released due to the transfer to labour work,” the channel wrote.

According to the activist, Akhmetshin has been assigned compulsory labour. “He will live in a dormitory, wear a bracelet and go to work. When he meets with his family members, the bracelet will be taken off,” said the activist.

In February 2025, the court sentenced Akhmetshin to four and a half years on charges of participating in mass unrest (part 2 of article 212 of the Criminal Code) and applying non-dangerous violence against representatives of the authorities (part 1 of article 318 of the Criminal Code).

• The case against Akhmetshin and other protest participants in Bashkortostan was opened after a people’s gathering in Baymak, a town in Bashkortostan, on 17 January 2024. Protesters gathered outside the court where the verdict was being delivered to the activist and former leader of the “Bashkort” movement Fail Alsynov. Security forces eventually dispersed the protesters. At least 40 people were injured as a result.
• After the dispersal, administrative and criminal cases followed against participants. Criminal charges were brought against several dozen people. One of the accused, Rifat Dautov, died after being detained—his family was not told the cause of death. Another participant, Minniyar Bayguskarov, took his own life after being beaten by security officers.