Yekaterina Sokiryanskaya: "We fear for the lives of our colleagues"

The project director for the North Caucasus International Crisis Group, Yekaterina Sokiryanskaya, told Vestnik Kavkaza that she feared for the lives of her colleagues in Dagestan: "We are afraid for our colleagues who work in the field ... After the murder of Akhmednabi Ahmednabiev a number of public figures have received threats. They are under surveillance." People fear for their lives and talk openly about it.

"Dagestan is the most dangerous place for journalists in Russia, 17 journalists have been killed, and none of these murders are currently being investigated." "The last murder of an independent journalist Akhmednabi Ahmednabiev is a very serious and hard to blow to all independent social forces in Dagestan. This is an act of terror against all those who write and speak up about the most complex problems of the region," the expert says.

As for the arrest of the mayor of Makhachkala, Said Amirov, it is a very important and significant step. No one could have imagined that this man can be detained, he was very influential. But now the big question is: "What next?" Because the fight against corruption must be systematic.