Bashkir Activist Flees To U.S. Via Mexico Fearing Arrest

Bashkir activist Zagir Mukhamedyarov has fled Russia and entered the United States via Mexico fearing arrest. The 27-year-old activist told RFE/RL on September 10 via a video link from an immigration center in the state of Louisiana, where he awaits a court decision regarding his application for political asylum, that he had to leave Russia amid a wave of arrests of Bashkir campaigners who had taken part in mass rallies protesting the imprisonment of noted Bashkir activist Fail Alsynov in mid-January. Mukhamedyarov was among the protesters. Several participants in the rallies have been handed lengthy prison terms on charges of mass unrest and assaulting police officers. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.