"Novaya Gazeta": journalists and bloggers achieved release of girl in Chechnya

Chechen authorities have released the 14-year-old native of Derbent as a result of a campaign in media and social networks, the "Novaya Gazeta" newspaper writes. The girl's mother recorded the talks with law enforcers and officials; she has gathered materials that refuted the version that her daughter was not kept in Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 21, a woman from Derbent complained, in her appeal to Ramzan Kadyrov, that her daughter had been kept at some power structure in Grozny since October 13, 2020. The very next day, Shamil Khadulaev, a member of the Public Chamber of Dagestan, said that after his appeal to Magomed Daudov, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, the girl was sent home to Dagestan. According to Khadulaev's version, the girl was married off, and her husband was killed in a special operation in Grozny.

The article of the "Novaya Gazeta" says that in order to release the girl, users managed to engage pages of social network publics, mainly of Islamic orientation, as well as influential Muslim bloggers who appealed to Ramzan Kadyrov's mercy.

Having released the girl, Chechen authorities tried to present the case as if her freedom had never been limited.

In Chechnya, the girls' mother was promised that her daughter would be released, but then they stopped communicating. Then, the woman contacted the Committee against Torture (CaT) and the journalists of the "Novaya Gazeta".

According to the newspaper, the very special operation in Grozny was used by Kadyrov for self-promotion.