Bashkir Activist Who Fled Russia Allowed To Stay In U.S.

Bashkir activist Zagir Mukhamedyarov, who fled Russia fearing arrest, has been allowed to stay in the United States. The 27-year-old activist told RFE/RL on September 20 that a court in the town of Jena, Louisiana, officially granted him the status of withholding of removal, which allows him to legally stay and work in the country. Mukhamedyarov told RFE/RL earlier 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 activist Fail Alsynov in mid-January. Mukhamedyarov was among the protesters. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Idel.Realities, click here.