A popular Ingush imam has reportedly been detained and placed under investigation for illegal arms possession.
The Telegram channel Sapa, which is believed to be affiliated with Ingush security structures, reported that security forces conducted a search on Friday morning at Imam Nazir Dzeitov’s apartment, where they allegedly found a Makarov pistol and seven cartridges.
Following the search, a criminal case was opened against the 31-year-old religious figure for illegal arms and munitions possession. Dzeitov is currently being held in a temporary detention facility in Nazran.
Another Telegram channel, Rozysk Ingushetia (‘Wanted: Ingushetia’), also linked to security services, reported that complaints against the imam had come from ‘vigilant residents’, who claimed they had ‘repeatedly seen him with objects visually resembling firearms’, and alleged that he had ‘threatened others with them during several confrontational incidents’. Although the name of the detainee was not mentioned in those reports, the details suggest the person in question is Dzeitov.
Dzeitov graduated from the Islamic University in Medina, Saudi Arabia. He is a well-known preacher in the region and runs an Instagram channel followed by 18,000 subscribers.
The Telegram channel BAQO, run by the Committee for Ingush Independence — an organisation established in 2023 and designated as a ‘foreign agent’ in Russia — cited its sources as saying that Dzeitov is being held in a regional office of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and is allegedly being coerced into confessing guilt.
Authorities and law enforcement officers in Ingushetia have not commented on Dzeitov’s arrest.
According to Sapa, Dzeitov was personally acquainted with two other religious figures previously detained in Ingushetia. In April this year, Imam Muhammad Tamaskhanov from Nazran and Imam Magomed Sultygov from Karabulak were arrested. Criminal proceedings were initiated against them for allegedly failing to report a terrorist act. Investigators reportedly questioned them about possible links to the group led by Bagaudin Gurazhev, whose members, according to the Investigative Committee, were involved in attacks on security forces in Ingushetia in 2023.
Following their arrest, peaceful gatherings took place in the republic demanding their release, but no official response was issued. Religious and public figures in Ingushetia stated that unlawful methods of interrogation had been used against Tamaskhanov. Sources from Fortanga, a regional independent media outlet close to religious circles, linked the prosecution of the imams to pressure on followers of Salafi Islam.
The two imams were later released and have since resumed preaching.
Elizaveta Chukharova
