Two teenagers commit suicide in Chechnya

The Chechen law enforcement authorities investigate two deaths of teenagers in Gudermes, the second largest city in the republic. According to the investigators, the children committed suicide; the preliminary cause was poor living conditions in single-parent families.

"On October 12, a 12-year-old girl committed suicide by hanging herself on a door handle in one of the private houses in the city of Gudermes. On the same day, the body of a 17-year-old local resident, who committed suicide by shooting himself in the head from a pistol, was found near the city cemetery," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the Chechen law enforcement officer.

The source has noted that teenagers' suicides were a complete surprise and shock for their parents and friends. Islam, customs and traditions of the Chechen nation strictly forbid suicide.

It has been already revealed that the deceased children lived in single-parent families. Besides, the investigatory agencies of Chechnya have revealed that the 17-year-old teenager committed suicide after a quarrel with his mother. At the moment of his death the teenager was in a state of narcotic and alcohol intoxication.

"The woman along was raising two children after having divorced her husband; and her son hardly listened to her. The last quarrel between them arose from the fact that money disappeared from the house. After the quarrel, the boy went to the city cemetery, where he took pills and drank alcoholic beverage, and then shot himself in the head from a traumatic pistol, which he bought several days before the incident. He died from his injuries," a law enforcement officer said.

Besides, the cause of the girl's suicide was revealed. The preliminary investigation showed that the 12-year-old girl hanged herself, since she had to constantly deal with housekeeping and had no possibility to attend school," a source from the Chechen law enforcement agencies reported.

According to him, the child's parents were divorced, and the family lived very poorly. "The child's mother worked, and the girl was forced to care for her four younger brothers and sisters, the eldest of whom was ten years old and the youngest one was only two years old. Being unable to withstand such loads, the girl committed suicide," the officer from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has noted.

He explained that the girl's mother would not let her children to go to school, since they had nothing decent to wear. "The father of the deceased child appeared now; however, to take the children, he would have to go to court," the source said.

The mothers of the deceased children may be prosecuted for incitement to suicide. Besides, the girl's mother may be deprived of her parental rights.

The double suicide in Gudermes has already been the subject of wide discussion in Chechnya. Most people blame the parents of deceased children of the incidents.