Resident of Chechnya publicly apologizes for coronavirus fake

The author of the resonant message that urged people to stock up on foodstuffs because of the coronavirus epidemic threat said on the air of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) that he was repenting of his act.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported that a message about a lot of coronavirus patients was spread on the WhatsApp and Instagram, the author of which called people in the Chechen language to make foodstuff stocks for the future. Then, Ismail Denilkhanov, the head of the Chechen Public Chamber, addressed the residents of the republic and treated the message as a fake.

The author of the audio message was Aslan Sadaliev, a resident of the village of Gekhi, Urus-Martan District, as the journalists of the ChGTRK informed in a news release on March 6.

Aslan Sadaliev, taken to the police station, has treated his message as a joke. "I sent a message through the WhatsApp some three-four days ago ... about this virus, and that the shops were empty. <...> Such conversation is inappropriate in our republic. We have all the stores [full of foodstuffs]; and not a single [coronavirus] case was revealed in our republic <...>. I am very sorry that I've sent it out," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has translated the words pronounced by Sadaliev on air of the "Grozny" TV Channel.

Residents of Chechnya have treated the apology as expected. "Everything went according to the well-tested scheme. The man has disseminated some information; they found him and forced to apologize. Our authorities and law enforcers are good in this like in nothing else. True, there is little sense in such apologies," a local resident named Milana told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 7, 2020 at 12:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.