Kidnapping of Ingush activist's nephew reminds Kadyrov's methods

The kidnappers of Rustam Lyanov did not post a recorded video, as the public outcry around the kidnapping made this act senseless. The incident was an attempt to introduce in Ingushetia the practice of public apologies widespread in Chechnya, activists believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in Ingushetia, unidentified persons kidnapped Rustam Lyanov, a nephew of Ibragim Lyanov, the head of the "European Association of Ingushes" in Brussels. Rustam said that he was forced to record a video urging his uncle not to criticize the authorities.

The reason that the video was not posted was in the resonance around the incident, Ruslan Mutsolgov, the leader of the Ingush branch of the "Yabloko" Party, believes.

He treats the kidnapping of Rustam Lyanov as an attempt to introduce the Chechen practice of public apologies in Ingushetia. According to Mr Mutsolgov, people close to the authorities may be behind the incident. He also believes that Rustam Lyanov and Oleg Kozlovsky, an employee of the Amnesty International (AI), were kidnapped by the same people.

In the opinion of Musa Abadiev, an activist, the kidnappers could have aimed to win favour of the republic's head.

Ismail Nalgiev, an activist, said that Rustam's kidnappers failed to post the video, understanding that the expected result would not be achieved.