Human rights activists considered the prosecutor's office's response to a complaint by activists from Kabardino-Balkaria to be a formality

The Kabardino-Balkarian prosecutor's office explained its refusal to take action, citing security forces' failure to pressure the signatories of the petition in defense of Larisa Tuptsokova. Human rights activists dismissed this response as a formality.

As reported by the " Caucasian Knot ," on November 7, the Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center reported that activists from Kabardino-Balkaria who signed an appeal to Adygea's head, Murat Kumpilov, in defense of Larisa Tuptsokova faced pressure . They received calls from people claiming to be from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and demanded they appear at the police station to "give an explanation" regarding the appeal. Although activists from various regions signed the appeal, the pressure was only reported in Kabardino-Balkaria, the human rights activists noted.

The Kabardino-Balkaria Prosecutor's Office has responded to a collective complaint filed on November 12 "in connection with pressure being exerted on the signatories of the collective appeal" in defense of Larisa Tuptsokova, the Kabardino-Balkaria Human Rights Center reported today on its Telegram channel.

The response arrived on December 10th via email to the human rights center, signed by the head of the department for overseeing the implementation of laws on federal security, interethnic relations, and countering extremism and terrorism.

"It is reported that the republic's law enforcement agencies have not carried out any measures against the signatories of the petition. Consequently, there are no grounds for prosecutorial action," the publication notes.

According to human rights activists, the prosecutor's office's summary conclusion "cannot but raise doubts about the objectivity and completeness of the investigation." "If such an investigation even took place," the statement reads. "Pro forma responses like these are evidence of the republic's oversight bodies' insufficient effectiveness in ensuring citizens' rights and freedoms, or a lack of intent to protect violated citizens' rights."

As a reminder, Larisa Tuptsokova is a journalist, philologist, and Circassian language teacher. In October, Tuptsokova reported that security forces  searched  her parents' home in Adygea and questioned her relatives in connection with an extremism case.

In late September, Tuptsokova, who lives in Georgia,  learned  that a criminal case had been opened against her in Russia for extremism. About a month earlier,  a fake website for the Circassian Cultural Center in Tbilisi, designated as extremist, appeared online  , with publications in the name of Larisa Tuptsokova.

Around 30 human rights defenders and activists from Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, and the Krasnodar Krai demanded that the criminal prosecution of Tuptsokova be dropped due to the absence of evidence of a crime. The signatories of the petition noted her contribution to preserving her native language and pointed out that the case against her could set a precedent for the prosecution of others who have collaborated with the cultural center in Tbilisi.

On November 19, it became known that Rosfinmonitoring added Larisa Tuptsokova to the list of terrorists and extremists .