Commentators considered it unlikely that Moscow police would be punished based on Fatima Alieva's complaint.

The demand of Moscow police for Dagestani native, therapist Fatima Alieva, to present documents may indeed be unfounded, as an electronic copy of her passport is available on the State Services website. However, users of social media believe that holding law enforcement accountable for their biased attitude is unlikely against the backdrop of the ongoing fight against extremism and the military operation in Ukraine.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 30, it became known that the family of 25-year-old Dagestani native, therapist Fatima Alieva, is seeking an investigation into the actions of Moscow police and holding them accountable. According to relatives, during her detention in the Vykhino-Zhulebino area, officers tore off the girl's hijab, insulted her, and then kept her in handcuffs at the police station. The police stated that she refused to present her passport, behaved aggressively, and did not comply with the demand to proceed to the station. The Kuzminsky District Court fined Alieva one thousand rubles.

Users debated the accountability of law enforcement

On the "Caucasian Knot" Facebook page*, which has about 164 thousand followers, two posts were published discussing the incident in Moscow involving Fatima Alieva. As of 12:40 Moscow time on November 2, both posts collectively garnered 2284 user reactions and 2022 comments.

Some commentators believed that the girl should have complied with the police's demand to present documents. "You need to obey when they ask for documents and show them," wrote Yelena Victorovna.

"When you arrive in any country, you are asked to present your passport. The law and order require this from every citizen of any country. Every man and woman is obliged to present it upon request," noted Tatyana Baksalieva.

"If you came and live in Moscow, you must comply if asked to present documents. In such times, you should always have a document with you," pointed out Ludmila Parkevich.

Other users countered that the girl's identity could have been established through electronic documents and questioned the necessity of her detention. "I haven't carried my passport with me in Moscow and the region for about 20 years. An electronic version is enough for me. What's the problem? Why did they act like that? Why didn't they check on the spot, it's unclear? A service investigation is necessary. We need to write to the internal security department," wrote Atav Adilgereev.

"She complied, showed her passport on her phone. Is physical force necessary for that?" exclaimed Roza Bakirova.

"What is the purpose of State Services? Why push people into an electronic concentration camp if electronic documents are not valid? How many of you, defending the lawless law enforcement officers, carry your passport daily? Are you out of your mind? A person in their own country can no longer go to work or the store without documents? What is happening to this country and the people living here, while most are just surviving?" wrote Madina Persik.

Accusations against the police were voiced in the discussion, as well as doubts that they would be held accountable for their actions. "The police are to blame! If a practicing doctor offered an electronic version of her passport available on State Services, that should have been enough for adequate police officers," stated Raja Raisa.

"If these workers were sure they would be punished, they wouldn't have acted like that. Impunity breeds permissiveness," wrote Brat Brat.

"In fact, such gross violations by the police are not new, and 'the honor of the uniform' – they will cover for each other, 'a crow will not peck out a crow's eye...' Of course, it is necessary to investigate and make a fair decision according to the law. I hope that before the law, everyone is equal, or are there those who are more equal before the law?" wrote Zhekshen Abdraymov.

Women from the North Caucasus republics regularly complain about biased treatment due to hijabs

Women from the North Caucasus republics periodically complain about biased treatment from residents and law enforcement in other regions of the country. For instance, in August 2023, a native of the North Caucasus complained about an attack on her and her children in the city of Moscow in New Moscow. According to her lawyer Ruslan Nagiev, dog owners insulted the woman because of her hijab and set their animals on her children. The victim was diagnosed with a torn knee ligament, and her eight-year-old son needed help after being bitten by a dog. "Not long before the incident, the woman had started working to help her husband, but now she won't be able to work," the lawyer reported.

In January 2023, five medical college students in Novocherkassk, including natives of Dagestan and Chechnya, were expelled for refusing to remove their hijabs. "Then every month, they held teachers' meetings, issuing warnings in turn, then reprimands, and it came to expulsion," one of the students told the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" on condition of anonymity. The girls appealed to the prosecutor and the ombudsman. Later, three students from Dagestan returned to their studies, having agreed with the administration on clothing that complied with college rules and religious prescriptions. Two other girls refused to return.

In February of the same year, a native of Chechnya secured the enrollment of her two daughters in a Moscow gymnasium after they were refused admission due to their hijabs. The woman was undergoing long-term treatment in Moscow and tried to temporarily arrange for her children to be closer to the hospital and her place of residence. The gymnasium administration explained the refusal by the unwillingness to "promote Islam," reported the human rights commissioner in Chechnya Mansur Soltaev. According to him, after appeals to various authorities, both girls were accepted.

Human rights activists criticized restrictions on hijabs in schools in Azerbaijan

The situation regarding hijab wearing has recently escalated in the South Caucasus. In October of this year, school leaders in Azerbaijan stopped allowing female students and teachers who refused to remove their hijabs to attend classes. The restrictions sparked protests accompanied by detentions and administrative arrests. Denying girls access to education due to religious clothing violates rights to education, freedom of religion, and self-expression, human rights activists stated, demanding the lifting of restrictions. "The secular nature of state education does not justify a general restriction on religious clothing," emphasized human rights activist Marie Strazers.

The freedom of choice of clothing must be taken into account when establishing requirements for school uniforms, emphasized Azerbaijani lawyer Yalchin Imanov. "Clothing relates to the concept of freedom of expression. The choice of clothing is one of the strongest forms of expressing a person's inner world," he said to the correspondent of "Caucasian Knot". Authorities need to maintain a balance between the right to education and freedom of conscience, the lawyer added.

Debates about wearing hijabs in Azerbaijani schools have been ongoing for a long time. On December 10, 2010, hundreds of students and parents protested outside the Ministry of Education in Baku. The reason was the requirement to adhere to a standard school uniform that did not include a Muslim headscarf. Participants demanded that girls be allowed to study in hijabs; the police detained 16 people at that time.