Resident of Abkhazia arrested in Russia for praising Shamil Basayev
Shamil Basayev and arrest of Abkhazian in Russia
Russia’s Federal Security Service has arrested an Abkhazian resident with dual Russian-Abkhazian citizenship. The reason for the arrest was the praise of the Chechen field commander Shamil Basayev, who is recognized as a terrorist in Russia.
The name of the arrested individual is not mentioned in official sources, but social media reports indicate that it is Timur Agrba, the administrator of the Telegram channel “Аҧсны Аҳәынҭқарра.”
“While in Abkhazia, he published posts on his channel aimed at ‘publicly justifying and propagandizing terrorist activities by creating a heroic image of the leaders of illegal armed groups’ in Chechnya from 1991 to 2006,” Russian media claim.
Timur Agrba lives in the Russian city of Sochi, where he was arrested. A criminal case has been initiated against him under Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code – “public calls for terrorist activities, publicly justifying terrorism, or propagandizing terrorism.”
This article stipulates a punishment of up to seven years in prison.
The arrest presumably took place in mid-March, although Russian security forces have only now reported it.
The identity of Shamil Basayev (killed in 2006) has long been a point of contention between Abkhazia and Russia.
In Russia, any positive comment about Basayev, who was the organizer of two major terrorist attacks, is considered a criminal offense.
However, for Abkhazia, Basayev is a national hero, as he fought on the side of the Abkhaz during the 1992-93 Georgian-Abkhaz war.
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