Putin's riot police attacked peaceful Muslims leaving the main Moscow mosque after Friday prayers on September 21.
Before the prayers started, the Russian police formed a cordon and checked IDs of Muslims entering the mosque. After the prayers, police started to detain them. Policemen lined up in rows and, using loudspeakers, began to squeeze Muslims from nearby streets. People were just grabbed and dragged like animals into police vehicles.
The police were rude to them and constantly cursed. When a detainee yelled that they are arrested because of they were "dark", the police calmly replied - "yes".
According to a human rights activist, when he asked the police asked to explain the reason for arrests, he was told that he was trying to provoke Muslims to attack Moscow City Hall, and he was also arrested.
At the police station, where he was brought, he counted up to 50 Muslim prisoners, mostly from Central Asia. The reasons for detentions were not revealed.
In "unofficial" talks with the Muslims, police threatened them with similar attacks every Friday.
Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center
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