Chechen authorities react to appeal of disappeared singer's mother to Kadyrov

On September 18, in Chechnya, the Ministry for National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) almost simultaneously rejected the political and criminal subtext in the disappearance of Zelimkhan Bakaev. The Ministries have assured they are making all efforts to find him.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 16, the mother of Zelimkhan Bakaev used WhatsApp to address Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov with a request for help in finding his son. The law enforcement agencies had no claims against Zelimkhan Bakaev, and there were no grounds for institution of a criminal case, reported the Chechen MIA.

According to Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister for National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information, hundreds of thousands of people disappear, but "for some reason, it is Chechnya which raises such a sore interest."

"Everything will be done that depends on Ramzan Kadyrov to find Zelimkhan Bakaev, who did nothing wrong to the republic and whose songs were admired," the official has added.

According to the website of the Chechen MIA, "operational and search measures" are underway.

"A criminal case can be instituted upon completion of an investigation. So far, there are no grounds for institution of a case," the Chechen MIA reported.

Relatives of Zelimkhan Bakaev treated the officials' statements with disbelief. "They believe Zelimkhan secretly left for Moscow or abroad. However, they cannot say why then he has not been communicating with anyone for almost a month and a half," noted a relative of the singer.

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