07 January 2021, 17:23
Human rights defenders call punishment of militants' relatives typical for Chechnya
The deaths of the people detained after a special operation conducted in October proved that the Chechen authorities continue repressions against families of suspected members of the armed underground, Igor Kalyapin believes. Svetlana Gannushkina suggests that extrajudicial killings of militants' relatives are pushing people on the path of radicalization.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 13, 2020, in the Oktiabrsky District of Grozny, law enforcers blocked a house, in which, according to their information, alleged militants were hiding. In the shootout, four alleged militants were killed, two servicemen of the "Rosgvardia" (Russian National Guard) perished, and one law enforcer was wounded. After the counterterrorist operation (CTO), the owner of the house and his two wives, one of whom was pregnant, were detained, a local resident reported.
On January 5, the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper reported the death of the three persons who were detained during the counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted on October 13 in Grozny. According to the newspaper, one of the detained wives of the house owner was a 14-year-old orphan girl from Dagestan, who is still kept at the police station.
Such events, reported by the "Novaya Gazeta", are common practice in Chechnya, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been told by Igor Kalyapin, the head of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT).
"Unfortunately, the authorities of the Chechen Republic believe there is no need to comply with the laws, no need to bring suspects to courts, and no need to prove their guilt. Instead, as it used to be said a hundred years ago, being guided by 'class instinct,' they may torture someone and kill someone. This is now a reality in Chechnya," Igor Kalyapin expressed his opinion.
According to the human rights defender, he himself is aware of many cases in Chechnya described by the "Novaya Gazeta". "I can mention dozens of examples when it works this way, when people are executed without trial or investigation, when relatives of suspects are punished, when houses are burned, and when people are evicted without trial or investigation. Moreover, this is being done in contradiction to the Russian laws, in contradiction to the Russian Constitution. All the above is being done with the connivance of our federal authorities, in particular, the heads of the law enforcement bodies," said the human rights defender.
Such actions by the authorities to put pressure on relatives and friends of people suspected of involvement in the armed underground are typical for Chechnya, but at the same time, they are absolutely senseless, agrees Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the "Civil Assistance Committee".
"That makes no sense at all, because such actions actually lead to the recruitment of new members for militants, and nothing else. Someone joins the armed underground when his brother is killed, and a next brother joins them later, and a cousin also follows them. This is a chain reaction. Moreover, that may be called natural with the Caucasian mentality, when people believe that the whole family is responsible for the actions of one person," Svetlana Gannushkina believes.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 7, 2021 at 02:04 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent
