Russia: Bashkir nationalist leader jailed on drug charges

Publisher	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
Publication Date	28 March 2013
Cite as	Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia: Bashkir nationalist leader jailed on drug charges, 28 March 2013, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/519a6b262c.html [accessed 1 June 2023]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

March 28, 2013

By RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service

Fanzil Akhmetshin's lawyer says he plans to appeal.

UFA, Russia – A court in the capital of Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, Ufa, has sentenced a Bashkir nationalist leader to 4 1/2 years in jail.

Fanzil Akhmetshin, a leader of the World Bashkir Assembly (Kurultai), a Bashkir cultural organization, was found guilty of drug trafficking.

Akhmetshin was arrested in November 2011 after police said they found opium in his suitcase upon his return from a visit to Somalia.

He has pleaded not guilty.

Akhmetshin's lawyer said his client planned to appeal the court's decision.

Hundreds of Akhmetshin's supporters have staged numerous protests since his arrest.