Daghestanis Protest Abductions Of Young Muslim Men

Some 200 people have protested in Makhachkala, Daghestan, against continuing abductions of young Muslim men by security forces.

The protestors gathered on August 26 outside the government building in the regional capital, but were forced by police to move to a nearby park.

The protestors accuse police of coercing the abducted men to commit acts of terrorism that brand them as militants.

On August 19, the relatives of a young practicing Muslim in the southern town of Derbent staged a similar protest after his disappearances two days earlier.

His family later identified him from photographs of a group of alleged militants killed in a counterterror operation in the area. He had been shot 22 times but his body also bore traces of beatings and torture.

According to Russian human rights group Memorial, there have been 12 abductions in Daghestan so far this year.