Ufa witnesses widespread protests in Bashkortostan against prison sentence

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Ufa, the capital of Russia's Bashkortostan republic, in support of jailed rights activist Fail Alsynov. The demonstration, which was captured on video by independent news outlet Sota Vision, resulted in the detention of at least 10 people. This was the third protest held in support of Alsynov, but the first in the region's capital. Alsynov had been sentenced to four years in a penal colony on charges of inciting ethnic hatred towards migrant workers. He argued that his words were inaccurately translated into Russian. Despite warnings from authorities, around 1,500 people still gathered for the protest. Videos showed police dispersing the crowd and engaging in altercations with demonstrators. The initial protests began in Baymak, a town near the Mongolian border, where thousands voiced their anger over Alsynov's conviction. Tear gas was reportedly used, and batons were employed against protesters. The Kremlin spokesman dismissed the protests as isolated incidents, while local authorities launched investigations and charged some demonstrators under "mass rioting" offenses, which carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Bashkir singer Altynai Valitov, who called for protests on social media, was visited by local authorities in Ufa. Alsynov's conviction was believed by his supporters to be revenge for his activism in curbing soda mining in a location considered sacred by locals. He intends to appeal the verdict, arguing that his remarks were mistranslated and meant to refer to "poor people" in the Bashkir language. Alsynov has also criticized military mobilization in the region and raised concerns about the involvement of ethnic minorities in the conflict in Ukraine. The Bashkort movement, of which Alsynov was a leader, had been banned as extremist in 2020 for its efforts to preserve the ethnic identity of the Bashkirs, a Turkic group closely related to the Tatars inhabiting the southern Ural mountains.