Muhammad Tamaskhanov

A resident of Ingushetia and an imam. In October 2024, his home was searched. According to Fortanga, citing a source close to the imam, the search may have been connected to his criticism of the Ingush authorities following the shooting at the Moscow office of Wildberries, in which two security guards from the republic were killed. Another source told the outlet that Tamaskhanov had participated in the ceremony welcoming the bodies of the deceased guards at the airport and delivered a sermon in which he urged people to avoid inciting interethnic hatred.

On September 19, the day after the shooting, the imam commented on the incident in his Telegram channel: “Yesterday we said ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un’ upon the death of our brothers. But today we say these words mourning the cowardice of the leadership of our republic.”

In April 2025, a case was opened against Tamaskhanov and another imam, Magomed Sultygov, for failing to report a terrorist crime. According to investigators, they had been in contact with Khusein Ganiev — an alleged accomplice of the ‘Amirkhan Gurazhev group’ that attacked a traffic police checkpoint in 2023 — and although they knew about his involvement in terrorist activities, they did not inform law enforcement.

Tamaskhanov believes that the real reason for the prosecution is his public discussion — the first of its kind in Ingushetia — of innovations in Islam, as well as the opening of a mosque in Nazran, which became popular despite warnings “not to do it.” Fortanga also notes that the imam’s prosecution may be linked to his criticism of the leadership of Ingushetia and Chechnya.