ロシアで侵攻開始後最大規模のデモ　中西部の共和国で

【モスクワＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシア中西部バシコルトスタン共和国でこのほど、地元の活動家に対して実刑判決が下されたことに抗議するデモ隊と機動隊が衝突し、双方に負傷者が出た。（写真は、ロシア中西部バシコルトスタン共和国で、抗議デモ参加者と対峙する機動隊。独立系メディア「ＳＯＴＡ」の動画より）
　ロシアではウクライナ侵攻開始後、抗議デモが禁止されている。今回のデモはそれ以降では最大規模で、異例の事態となった。
　ＳＮＳに投稿された映像には、同共和国南部の町バイマクでの衝突の様子が捉えられている。
　ロシア連邦捜査委員会は１７日、「暴力を伴う大規模な集団暴動で複数の負傷者が出た。武器の使用もあった」と述べた。
　デモを監視する独立系人権団体「ＯＶＤインフォ」によれば、機動隊はデモ隊を解散させるため催涙ガスを用い、数十人を拘束した。
　捜査委は、デモは「集団暴動」の疑いがあるとし、刑事事件として調査を進めているとした。集団暴動で有罪となった場合、最高で懲役１５年が言い渡される可能性がある。また、公務員に対する暴力では最高で懲役５年が科される。
　デモのきっかけとなったのは、環境や少数言語のバシキール語の保護に取り組む活動家に対し、バイマクの裁判所が懲役４年の有罪判決を言い渡したことだ。判決は非公開で下された。
　活動家は人種差別的な発言で罪に問われていたが、本人はバシキール語からロシア語へ翻訳に際して誤訳されたと主張していた。
　活動家は昨年にも、ウクライナ侵攻に関してロシア政府に批判的な発言をしたとして罰金刑が科されている。
　地元メディアによると、当時、政府による軍への動員は「バシキール人に対するジェノサイド（集団殺害）」だとし、侵攻は「われわれの戦争ではない」と語ったとされる。
　実際、複数の調査で、ロシアではバシキール人など少数民族からの動員および戦死の割合が突出しているとの結果が示されている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/01/18-16:47）

Protesters and riot police clashed in a small town in Russia's central Bashkortostan, leaving injured on both sides, after an activist was sentenced to four years in prison.
Street protests are rare in Russia, which has clamped down on dissent since launching its military offensive in Ukraine and has strict anti-demonstration laws.
Crowds of men in the town of Baymak fought with riot police in temperatures hovering around -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), social media footage showed. Russia's Investigative Committee said police and protestors sustained injuries.
During the mass riots, which were accompanied by violence including the use of objects as weapons, several people were injured, including members of law enforcement, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
The independent OVD-Info rights group, which monitors protests across Russia, said police used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators and that dozens had been detained.
The Investigative Committee said it had opened criminal cases into mass rioting -- a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison -- and for violence against a public officer, punishable by up to five years in prison.
- 'Fought for justice' -
The protests started after a court in the town of around 17,000 people sentenced Fail Alsynov, an eco-activist and campaigner for the protection of the Bashkir language, to four years in prison for inciting hatred.
The ruling was issued behind closed doors.
Alsynov was accused of making a racist comment in a speech to a village council meeting against gold digging. He insists his words were mistranslated from the Bashkir language.
The SOTA opposition Telegram channel showed a video of a handcuffed Alsynov inside the courtroom after the verdict on Wednesday, protesting his innocence.
I do not admit my guilt, Alsynov said, vowing to appeal the ruling.
I always fought for justice, for my nation, for my republic.
According to SOTA, the clashes started after protesters blocked the court building in a bid to try to stop Alsynov from being taken away.
Videos shared on social media showed men washing their eyes with water after reports police used tear gas in the freezing temperatures.
Anticipating a public response, police had on the eve of the verdict warned against illegal public gatherings.
- 'Mass riots' -
Alsynov's case had already sparked protests of several hundred people in Baymak earlier this week.
The head of the local interior ministry, Rafail Divayev, urged demonstrators to back down on Wednesday.
Mass riots threaten our country's national security, therefore the punishment under this article is quite serious, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoted him as saying.
I advise you to come to your senses and not ruin your life.
The protests are some of the biggest demonstrations since Russia sent troops into Ukraine and escalated a decade-long crackdown on opposition to the Kremlin.
Some protesters called for the dismissal of the local governor, Radiy Khabirov, who had accused Alsynov of using racist language.
In the speech that resulted in the charges, Alsynov had used two words in Bashkir that were translated into Russian as black people.
In Russia, the phrase is often used to pejoratively describe people from Central Asia and the Caucasus. Alsynov said he was referring to poor people.
The activist was last year fined for criticising Moscow's offensive in Ukraine online, saying it was not in Bashkortostan's interests.
According to local media, Alsynov called Russia's mobilisation drive a genocide of the Bashkir people and said Moscow's offensive was not our war.
Multiple independent analyses have shown a disproportionately high number of military call-ups and fatalities among Russia's minority national groups, including from Bashkortostan.
The Kremlin has tried to head off nationalist sentiment among the groups, blaming any ethnic tension on Ukraine and the West.
A Russian army batallion from Bashkortostan criticised Alsynov in a social media video, calling for him to be drafted into the military.
We urge you to send Alsynov and his friends to our battalion. We will re-educate them and teach them to love the motherland, one fighter said.