Law enforcers detain alcohol buyers, Grozny residents report

In the morning on December 17, in Grozny, law enforcers detained at a supermarket exit two men who had just bought several bottles of beer and vodka and took them away to the city. This has been told today to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Murad, who witnessed an incident.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that early in December several shops in Grozny limited sale of alcoholic beverages. Meanwhile, employees of major supermarkets found it difficult to answer whether a ban was introduced only for the Muslim month of Rabi-al-Awal when the birth of the Prophet Muhammad was celebrated or on continuing basis.

Grozny resident Islam has confirmed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent the information about two men who were detained after they had purchased alcoholic beverages.

"A relative of one of the detainees is my colleague, and he said they could not reveal the whereabouts of their relative for almost a day. It turned out that he and his friend bought several bottles of alcoholic drinks in a 'Lenta' supermarket and when they left they were forced into a car and taken away [to a law enforcement building]. They were kept there for a day and set free after a so-called 'preventive talk.' Of course, they did not get back the alcoholic drinks purchased by them," Islam said.

Magomed, a resident of Grozny, has shared his observations with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent and said that in Chechnya, only Chechens are detained by law enforcers for purchase or consumption of alcoholic beverages. "It seems it does not concern people of other nationalities. It turns out that we are not affected by federal laws, since a person cannot afford to buy a bottle of beer, even in the period of time officially allocated for relax," Magomed complained.

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