Dagestan athlete in Elista transferred to a separate cell

Member of the Dagestan team Greco-Roman wrestling Said Osmanov, who was detained on suspicion of desecrating a Buddha statue in Elista, was transferred to a separate cell. A confession is required from the detainee, his relatives say.

Athletes from Dagestan, walking along Elista on April 1, went into a Buddhist temple, where one of them relieved himself, and also kicked a statue of Buddha, Rain reports, noting that, perhaps, no one would have known about the incident if the athletes themselves did not broadcast their activities to the Periscope app. The footage posted on the Internet was seen by the residents of Elista and came to deal with the wrestlers at the hotel where the team was staying. The fight was miraculously avoided, but the Dagestani had to kneel down to ask the angry Buddhists for forgiveness, the channel reports. It is noteworthy that videos about the events that followed the incident in the temple are posted on the network, including on YouTube. They broadcast only photos of a guy stretching his foot to the nose of the Buddha.

Said Osmanov applied for a separate cell in the pre-trial detention center, said the Commissioner for Human Rights in Kalmykia Evgeny Emelianenko . According to him, the petition was granted, and the conditions of detention of the detainee meet all the necessary standards, writes RIA "Kalmykia".

The athlete's lawyer also reported that Said Osmanov was kept in a separate cell, Chernovik reports.

Relatives: no evidence of Said Osmanov's guilt

The investigating authorities require Said Osmanov to write a confession, as they have no other evidence of guilt, the detainee's uncle told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent Abdulkadyr Osmanov . According to him, pressure is currently being exerted on his nephew to confess to desecrating the monument. "They have no evidence. There is no video or photographic evidence. And now they are trying to physical pressure knock out a confession," he said.

Abdulkadyr Osmanov noted that he was also asked to persuade his nephew when he went to Elista to see Said. According to him, the police did not give permission for the meeting. They hired a Dagestan lawyer who left for Kalmykia only on April 7th.

According to Osmanov's relatives, they met a young man who was with Said at the statue of Buddha that evening. Unfortunately, this young man himself is not available to the media, as the special services forbade him to communicate with journalists. But relatives filmed a video from the back, where the athlete talks about what happened that evening on April 1. "There were three of us. We walked around the park and saw the sculpture. We broadcast on Periscope. We didn't know what kind of monument it was. With Said, we approached her, I began to shine my phone at her. Said said one thing, just one obscene word on her, but I interrupted him. I explained to him that local residents could see us, and then there could be problems. And we returned to the hotel, "the video provided by Osmanov's relatives says.

As for the photo published on the Internet, where a young man raises his leg to the level of the face of the Buddha statue, this is a fake, the older brother of the detainee told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent Hamid Osmanov . "This is most likely an old photo. And it clearly shows that this is not Said. Said has curly hair. Shortly before the trip, he cut his hair short. And in the photo there is a man with long straight hair. And the photo shows that young guy stubble, and Said has sparse facial hair," said Hamid Osmanov.

On April 6, Abdulkadyr Osmanov sent an appeal to the President of Russia, the head of Dagestan and the Prime Minister of Dagestan with a request to control the course of the criminal case so that it was conducted objectively and fairly, without giving the event political and religious overtones.

Recall that earlier, who noted that he was not at the scene of the incident.

The desecration of the monument was, according to eyewitnesses

The incident took place late in the evening on April 1, a Kalmyk journalist told the Caucasian Knot correspondent. Badma Byurchiev who witnessed the events. According to him, Dagestani athletes were walking in the center of Elista, not far from the building of the government of Kalmykia, when they saw the statue of Buddha Shakyamuni, which is located in the park on the veranda. One of the athletes, calling the statue obscenely, approached him and relieved himself, says Byurchiev.

“The Dagestanis behaved extremely defiantly, witnesses of the athletes’ walk say. One of them pointed to the Buddha and loudly asked what kind of “n…”, that is, a man of non-traditional sexual orientation. Passers-by made comments, but the athletes didn’t care,” said Byurchiev.

The incident was filmed on a phone camera and broadcast on the Periscope application, while the incident was not recorded. Byurchiev claims that the service is designed in such a way that after the broadcast is over, the video is not saved, and other tools are needed for recording, which the Dagestan athletes did not use. "There is no record of the actions of the Dagestanis - neither on Youtube, nor anywhere else," Byurchiev said.

He noted that the photo circulated in the media, where a man stretches his legs and kicks the head of the Buddha, was taken long before the incident and not even in Elista. "Unfortunately, even respected publications spread incorrect information. Subsequently, this led to a huge resonance among the Elistinites," the journalist said.

The broadcast of the Dagestanis' walk on Periscope was watched by many residents of Elista, and "it was not difficult for them to quickly write off on social networks and agree on revenge on the Dagestanis," Byurchiev said. The Elista people chose the place and time of gathering, and about 100 people arrived in cars, some of whom were armed with bats, sticks and armatures. By 11:00 pm, the crowd headed for the Elista Hotel, the largest hotel in the city, where, according to Byurchiev, all athletes stay.

“The crowd was determined, people demanded to extradite the offender to them. Several police squads drove up to the hotel, and only this stopped the crowd from lynching. For a long time no one came out, but suddenly a man appeared at the door of the hotel - the same athlete who cursed and pissed on the statue. The man shouted: "I'm sorry," but this was clearly not enough for the crowd - everyone wanted physical violence. Then the athlete went on about the crowd, demanding to kneel. This was enough for everyone to disperse in a few minutes," Byurchiev commented.

At a certain moment it became scary, she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent hotel employee Elista, who asked not to be named. "It was spontaneous, uncontrollable and unconscious. It was as if the lower instincts had awakened in people. At some point, we thought that the police would not be able to resist the crowd, and people would break into the hotel. Every Elistinian supported the crowd, not a single one was left indifferent", - said the employee of the hotel.

Badmaev: the actions of the Dagestanis offended the national feelings of the Kalmyks

Dagestanis shouted insults at the Kalmyks, promising to "put them on their knees," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent Chief Editor"Modern Kalmykia" Valery Badmaev. "Thus, the Dagestanis insulted not even Buddhists, but Kalmyks. All segments of the population are outraged, right down to Russian pensioners, who, it would seem, were not affected by the incident," Badmaev said.

The incident caused a serious public outcry among the entire population of Elista. Seeing the desecration of the statue, the townspeople called friends, were indignant, they, in turn, reported the incident to their neighbors, and they passed the information on to their relatives, Badmaev said. He said that local Dagestanis complain to him that by kneeling, the athlete "humiliated the entire Dagestan people."

Culturologist: Said Osmanov showed disrespect to himself

Head of the Center for the Development of Modern Oirat Culture "Tengrin Uidl" Basan Zakharov believes that the athlete could react differently and not succumb to the mood of the crowd. “In this regard, the Dagestan and Kalmyk cultures are similar - if a man kneels, this is disrespect for himself. I don’t know what the motivation was. This characterizes the man as an extremely unstable person. In this regard, I understand the Dagestanis. , and in front of the Dagestanis," Zakharov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Now the population of Kalmykia has "calmed down," Zakharov claims. "After the apologies of the prime minister of Dagestan and the muftiate, interethnic conflicts were avoided," the culturologist said.

Political scientist: Kalmyks have shown the ability to quickly self-organize

The speed with which the Elistins managed to cooperate is a consequence of the fact that the Kalmyk capital is "a small city, about 100 thousand people", where "any news spreads quickly, especially bad news," the chairman of the expert council of the Study Foundation told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent electoral politics Andrey Serenko. Also, "the Kalmyks are capable of quick organization when it comes to protecting religious shrines," the political scientist believes.

“What was happening was broadcast over the Internet, and there are a lot of advanced users in Elista. The incident itself took place in the city center, next to the building of the republican administration, where there are always people. Witnesses personally observed the trick of the young brat and helped spread the news. self-esteem, and are able to stand up for it," Serenko said.

Screenshot from lenta.ru

The wrestler relieved himself there and kicked a Buddha statue in the nose

Minister's press secretary physical education and sports of Dagestan, Gadzhimurad Akhmedov said that the incident with the desecration of the statue of Buddha in Elista does not carry religious and national overtones. He said this in an interview with the radio station "Moscow speaking" on Sunday, April 3.

Akhmedov said that a conversation was held with the wrestler, and his coach was fired. “The trial will be with the entire team that went there. There is an order to sort out this incident,” he summed up.

The incident took place in Elista on the night of Saturday, April 2. The 22-year-old athlete, in his spare time from the competition, together with his teammates went to a Buddhist temple, relieved himself there and kicked a Buddha statue in the nose. He shared his experience in social network Periscope.

Residents of Elista, who saw this video, arrived at the hotel where the athlete was staying and forced him to apologize, putting him on his knees. The development of the conflict was stopped by the police who arrived at the scene. A resident of Dagestan was detained and taken to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Lenta.ru reports.

The wrestling tournament was cancelled. As the organizers explained, this decision was dictated by the fact that what happened cast a shadow on the event.

The chairman of the government of Dagestan, Abdusamad Gamidov, arrived in Kalmykia and apologized for the act of vandalism on behalf of himself and all citizens of the republic.

All Dagestanis condemn the immoral act of our countryman. Therefore, on my own behalf, I offer deep apologies to our fraternal Kalmyk people,” he said.

In turn, the head of the Republic of Kalmykia, Alexei Orlov, said that a case had been opened into the incident under Part 2 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion”). The suspect is in a pre-trial detention center, investigative measures are being taken against him.

As it became known, later the vandal athlete may be associated with terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State (IS, ISIS) banned in the Russian Federation. This opinion was expressed on Sunday, April 3, on the air of the radio station "Moscow Speaking" by Roman Silantyev, a member of the expert council for conducting state religious expertise under the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

If he (the athlete) was in a sober state, then he was a fighter of the Wahhabi brothers. And the conversation with him will be quite difficult. That is, he will be imprisoned for sure, and not necessarily just for this. It will probably turn out that he also transferred money to ISIS, somehow supported them in social networks, in general, this may not end in two years, the expert said.

As Silantiev explained, the athlete’s possible connection with terrorists is indicated by his dismissive attitude towards Buddhist shrines. “Wahhabis treat Buddha statues in our country like the Taliban, that is, specifically, they destroy them as far as possible,” he said.

At the same time, the expert admitted that the wrestler's act was caused by drug intoxication.

A resident of Dagestan who desecrated a Buddha statue in Kalmykia was taken into custody for two months. The defiled statue will be cleansed on Tuesday. In Kalmykia and Dagestan, they hope that after the apology of the official representatives of Dagestan, the incident will not develop into an interethnic confrontation. Some experts consider both the arrest and the criminal case itself initiated after the incident on the fact of insulting the feelings of believers redundant: from their point of view, this legal structure, which appeared in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation shortly after the Pussy Riot action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, is not in itself completely worked out and weakens the defendant's position in advance.

A Dagestani who, on the night of April 2, desecrated a statue of Buddha in the capital of Kalmykia, Elista, recorded his actions on video and broadcast it on the social network Internet, was arrested for two months. The Elista City Court authorized the arrest of the suspect in a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public actions expressing clear disrespect for society and committed in order to insult the religious feelings of believers, committed in places specially designed for worship, other religious rites and ceremonies). The violator can face imprisonment for up to three years.

The incident with the desecration of the statue caused indignation in Kalmykia, but has not yet grown into an interethnic confrontation. Already on Saturday night, the residents of Elista made an apology at the hotel where the athletes who came to the freestyle wrestling tournament stayed: the culprit of the incident himself was forced to ask for forgiveness on his knees. At the same time, some residents of Elista complain about provocative inaccuracies made by journalists and bloggers in their coverage of events. Users from other Buddhist regions of Russia - Buryatia and Tuva, willingly joined the virtual discussion, who generally approve of the harsh reaction of the Elistinites, who immediately demanded an apology from the guest. On the other hand, Tuvan journalist Sayana Mongush is “embarrassed and upset” by her readiness for retaliatory aggression and recalls the burning of a Muslim prayer room near Elista in July 2014 as a “dubious feat”. “It is a feat to keep one's mind in the face of incessant invitations to fight,” Ms. Mongush believes. In turn, the majority of Dagestan commentators condemned the fellow countryman's act, although there were many statements condemning the inaction of the police, which, according to users, allowed the humiliation of the athlete by the crowd. In the context of the inaction of the authorities, the most radical users also recalled the arson of a prayer room in 2014, as well as the desecration in 2006 of a mosque in the village of Prikumsky on the border of Kalmykia with Dagestan and the Stavropol Territory, where they planted a pig's head.

There was no information on the official Dagestani resources about the incident in Elista until Monday (the statement published on Sunday by the chairman of the Dagestani Committee on Freedom of Conscience, Interaction with Religious Organizations was also removed from the website of the republican news agency).

On Monday, Kommersant received a comment from Magomed-Rasul Umalatov, a representative of the government of Dagestan in Kalmykia. According to him, more than 20 thousand natives of Dagestan live and work in Kalmykia: most of them are employed in animal husbandry, and the townspeople, as a rule, try to develop their business or get jobs in law enforcement agencies. Mr. Umalatov told Kommersant that he had not received any complaints from Dagestanis living in this republic after the conflict in Elista: “I get calls from both local Dagestanis and fellow countrymen from Dagestan, and all as one condemn the act of this scoundrel” .

The head of Kalmykia, Alexei Orlov, said that the head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, also apologized to the people of Kalmykia, who sent the chairman of the government of the republic, Abdusamad Gamidov, to Elista. He, in the presence of Alexei Orlov and media representatives, made an official statement: “Our peoples have always lived as good neighbors. Thousands of Dagestanis live peacefully next to the Kalmyk people. They live together, work, respecting the religious and spiritual values ​​of our fraternal people. Therefore, we would like to offer a deep apology. The actions of some young people are a disgrace to our republic as a whole. Let us assure you that this fact will not go unpunished.” According to Mr. Gamidov, the team coach who brought the Dagestan team to competitions in Elista has already been fired.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the chairman of the Dagkomreligion, Magomed Abdurakhmanov, contained a sharp condemnation of “an extremely unseemly act of a Dagestan athlete, expressed in insulting the religious feelings of the inhabitants of Kalmykia, where he was visiting”: “It is impossible and impossible to justify the elementary neglect of the norms of cohabitation in a single country where inhabited by representatives of a wide variety of cultures and beliefs, neither age nor ignorance. However, a negative attitude towards the act of one person should not be transferred to the entire republic, where many peoples with different cultural traditions and religious views peacefully coexist from time immemorial.” The chairman of the committee suggested inviting representatives of the muftiate of Dagestan to the gyms to give lectures to athletes on religious tolerance.

On the morning of April 4, the statement of the press service and information department of the administration of the head and government of Dagestan was finally published “in connection with the events in Elista”: “This incident was unconditionally condemned by the Dagestanis. Ignorance, lack of culture, extremely low level the education of some young people, unfortunately, entails actions that have no justification. A telephone conversation has already taken place at the level of the leaders of Dagestan and the Republic of Kalmykia. Elista was visited by a government delegation headed by the chairman of the government of Dagestan, Abdusamad Gamidov. Relevant work is being carried out by law enforcement agencies, parents apologized young man… What happened will not be left without a proper response.”

Experts interviewed by Kommersant believe that apologies could have been limited. Member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights (HRC) Pavel Chikov with the qualification of an act Dagestan wrestler at the current stage, I disagree: “Without clarifying the motive of the accused, it is impossible to assert the fact of insult, there must be direct intent. He showed a banner or insulted Buddhists - this needs to be established, ”he told a Kommersant correspondent. According to a member of the HRC, the detention of the accused in this case is "a clearly excessive and unreasonable reaction." “The very criminalization of insulting the feelings of believers looks redundant, and now they are also imprisoned for it,” Mr. Chikov said. Ali Charinsky, an Islamic activist from Dagestan, believes that the conflict was over when the wrestler who insulted the Buddhists was on his knees and apologized: “If he saved his friends from a massacre, then he did everything right. And the fact that everything was stopped so quickly is also true. I only hope that there will be no response from the Kalmyks against the Muslims, that would be dangerous.”

The desecrated Buddha statue will be cleansed on Tuesday, Minister of Culture and Tourism Khongor Elbikov told reporters.

Julia Rybina, Makhachkala; Badma Byurchiev, Elista; Grigory Tumanov

The Ministries of Sports and Youth of Dagestan have planned a number of educational meetings with local residents in connection with the incident with the desecration of the statue of Buddha in Elista. The monks in Elista performed a ritual of purification of the statue of Buddha and prayed for the detained Dagestani. However, information about the desecration of the statue was denied by a source in his team, who noted that he was not at the scene of the incident.

Athletes from Dagestan, walking along Elista on April 1, went into a Buddhist temple, where one of them relieved himself, and also kicked a statue of Buddha, Rain reports, noting that, perhaps, no one would have known about the incident if the athletes themselves did not broadcast their activities to the Periscope app. The footage posted on the Internet was seen by the residents of Elista and came to deal with the wrestlers at the hotel where the team was staying. The fight was miraculously avoided, but the Dagestani had to kneel down to ask the angry Buddhists for forgiveness, the channel reports. It is noteworthy that videos about the events that followed the incident in the temple are posted on the network, including on YouTube. They broadcast only photos of a guy stretching his foot to the nose of the Buddha.

The father of the detained wrestler apologized to the Kalmyk people for this incident. The head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov, also apologized, stressing that "what happened will not be left without a proper response." The head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia, Shajin Lama Telo Tulku Rinpoche expressed his gratitude to the people of Dagestan, who apologized for the incident in Elista.

The source denied the information about the desecration of the Buddha statue

The cause of the conflict between the Kalmyks and the Dagestanis was the unflattering words of the fighter against the Buddha monument, broadcast on Periscope, reported source in the Dagestan wrestling team . He denied the information about the desecration of the Buddhist temple.

“What they are now saying is that our athlete allegedly relieved himself in a Buddhist temple and hit the Buddha statue is all untrue. Our athletes did not even go inside the temple. They were returning from dinner and stopped at the temple. The broadcast was conducted outside. And in the photo , which is replicated on the Internet, where someone kicks a Buddha statue, definitely not our athlete," a source who did not wish to be named told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He also noted that he was not at the scene of the incident.

According to the source, the Kalmyks who had gathered in front of the hotel were armed with clubs and fittings, and if they had not been taken out through the back door in time, many Dagestan athletes would have suffered.

Monakhs in Elista held a ritual of purification of the statue of Buddha and prayed for the detained Dagestani

"In case of desecration of Buddhist shrines, two ceremonies are usually performed - "tusol" [cleansing] and "ramne" [consecration]", - said an assistant to the Shangjin Lama of Kalmykia Khongr Elbiev , noting that the procedures were carried out this time as well.

During the ritual, in which, in addition to the monks, local residents took part, the Buddha statue was washed with spring water, its head and neck were covered with new gold paint. In addition, the sacred object was dressed in clean clothes, fumigated with juniper, reading the mantra of purification over it.

"These are very important rituals, they leave good imprints in the mind. With these rituals, we paid honor to the Buddha and, as it were, said that now the statue is clean of the dirt that was caused to it," Elbiev noted. He also added that "an additional grace" was the light rain that had passed in Elista.

After reading the mantra of cleansing the statue from filth, the monks also prayed for the person who, according to them, abused her, writes Komsomolskaya Pravda in Stavropol.

Dagestan ministries of sports and youth have planned educational meetings with local residents and athletes

The Ministry of Sports and Physical Culture of Dagestan intends to discuss measures of educational work with all directors, coaches and students sports schools Republic, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told in the department. The first event is scheduled for today.

According to Zainal Salautdinov, First Deputy Minister of Sports of Dagestan, the meetings will be held in all four districts of the republic.

"On April 6, we will gather all workers in the sports industry, athletes and pupils of sports schools of the Central Territorial District of Dagestan at a meeting to discuss measures to improve the organization of educational work. Similar meetings will be held in Derbent, Khasavyurt, Shamilkala," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. Zainal Salautdinov .

According to him, about three thousand people will take part in these events.

"After the completion of all meetings, a document will be developed. We have not yet decided what format. Whether it will be a program, a concept, or a Code of Honor for Athletes. But in it we will prescribe how a participant in all-Russian and international physical culture and sports competitions should behave," - said the official.

According to the Deputy Minister, explanatory conversations with students have already been held in all sports schools.

Educational conversations with athletes are also going to be held by the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Dagestan.

"Employees of the Ministry of Youth will visit gyms together with spiritual mentors and teachers and tell young people how to behave outside the republic," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told. at the Ministry of Youth Affairs of Dagestan .

Note that members of the Dagestan youth team in freestyle wrestling were in Elista in order to participate in the tournament named after the Hero Soviet Union Basan Gorodovikov. Sport competitions because of the incident had to be canceled, reports "Rossiyskaya Gazeta".

An athlete from Dagestan, who arrived at the wrestling competition in Elista, defiled a Buddha statue and was detained. A criminal case was initiated against him, and the authorities of Dagestan apologized for the countryman. This was reported on the website of the head of the Republic of Kalmykia Alexey Orlov.

The Elista City Court of Kalmykia arrested a Dagestan athlete for 2 months for desecrating a Buddha statue. This was reported to a TASS correspondent in the press service of the court.

"Said Osmanov, born in 1994, was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of detention for a period of 2 months from the moment of detention, that is, until June 2," the agency's interlocutor said.

Recall, the athlete in Greco-Roman wrestling named after the hero of the Soviet Union Oka Gorodovikov. On the night of April 2, while walking around the city, he went to a Buddhist temple and made a video of how he holds power moves against the Buddha statue. The video was posted on the Internet and caused a public outcry among local residents.

“An unprecedented, flagrant act of vandalism was committed against our national, religious shrine. The suspect was detained, is in a pre-trial detention center, investigations are underway against him, a criminal case "Violation of the right to freedom of conscience and religion", - said Alexei Orlov in a video message.

According to the Criminal Code, the sanctions of the article provide for up to three years in prison.

Reaction in Dagestan

According to Orlov, the athlete's act was also condemned by the authorities of Dagestan.

"We are united in one thing, we condemn this act of vandalism and, most importantly, the moral, spiritual freaks who commit such illegal acts have no nationality," Orlov said.

A few hours after the incident, the chairman of the government of Dagestan arrived in Elista Abdusamad Gamidov who apologized for the countryman.

“All Dagestanis condemn this immoral act of our countryman, therefore, on behalf of all Dagestanis, on my own behalf, I deeply apologize to our fraternal Kalmyk people. Our peoples have always lived in good neighborliness, many Dagestanis today work and live in the Republic of Kalmykia, live together, respecting religious, spiritual, all the values ​​of their brotherly people," Hamidov said.

He also said that the coach, who was fired, was punished for the athlete's act.

Earlier, the ARD reported that Osmanov's father, and the Dagestan Muftiyat, brought to the Kalmyk Buddhists for his son in connection with the desecration of a Buddhist temple in the Republic of Kalmykia.

In addition, the minister of sports of Dagestan received a reprimand from the head of Dagestan, Ramazan Abdulatipov. Magomed Magomedov, according to the press service of the head of Dagestan.

"This incident was unconditionally condemned by the Dagestanis. Ignorance, lack of culture, the extremely low level of education of some young people, unfortunately, entail actions that have no justification. The parents of the young man apologized. The minister of physical culture and sports was reprimanded Republic for improper educational work with athletes," the message says.