Chechen authorities refute kidnapping of singer Bakaev by power agents

The singer Zelimkhan Bakaev, whose kidnapping was declared by his friends, was not a terrorist and power agents had no need of him at all, Djambulat Umarov, the Chechen Minister for National Policy, Press and Information, has stated today.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since August 8, the whereabouts of Zelimkhan Bakaev, 26, a native of Grozny, remained unknown; his phone was disconnected. Friends of the Chechen singer suggested that Bakaev could be kidnapped, but some linked his disappearance with a family conflict.

The above Minister Umarov has treated the statements that Bakaev could have been kidnapped in Grozny as “nonsense.”

"The guy is neither a Wahhabi, and nor a terrorist; he wasn’t involved in any stories; therefore, he was not taken by any bodies; nobody will need him for 100 years," the RBC quotes Mr Umarov as saying today.

The minister also expressed the opinion that Bakaev would appear in some time. "He will not go anywhere, because he had no enemies here," Minister Umarov has stressed.

Zelimkhan Bakaev’s mother has filed an application to the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) asking to help to find her son, the RIA “Novosti” reports today citing a local law enforcement source.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.