Man arrested after protests in Russia’s Bashkortostan has reportedly died in police custody

Rifat Dautov, a resident of Russia’s Republic of Bashkortostan, has reportedly died in police custody after being detained following a protest in support of local activist Fail Alsynov, says his sister Zaliya.

According to Zaliya, on January 19, Dautov was waiting nearby for a girl but left 15-20 minutes into the protest. Later, he was summoned to a police station and given a “written warning.” On January 25, OMON (riot police) arrested Dautov and took him to an unknown location.

Subsequently, a local official contacted Dautov’s family and called them to the Ufa morgue to identify his body. Zaliya said she was not allowed inside as there was no investigator present, so she is unable to confirm her brother’s death.

Messages in several anonymous Telegram channels suggested that Dautov was intoxicated when he was taken into custody and died from alcohol poisoning. According to Zaliya, her brother does not drink at all.

Fail Alsynov’s lawyer, who had previously reported that a different man was beaten in detention, wrote that “the information about deceased is also confirmed.” He did not mention Dautov by name.