Human rights defenders assess reality of threats to Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s relatives

The blood feud declared to relatives of Tumso Abdurakhmanov contradicts adats (local customary practices observed by a Muslim community, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”), but serves as a tool for intimidating critics of the authorities and forcing their relatives out of Chechnya, human rights defenders interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot” noted.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov and his brother claimed that the Chechen authorities had passed a warning about blood feud to their relatives in the village of Starye Atagi. The armed men appeared in the village after a dispute between Tumso and the speaker of the Chechen parliament in a voice chat.

Relatives of Tumso Abdurakhmanov should not fear for their lives, says a Chechen human rights defender who preferred to remain anonymous. “I do not think that they can be killed for Tumso’s criticism of the authorities. Relatives will simply be intimidated and squeezed out of the republic. That will be done so that everyone knows that even if critics of the authorities do not suffer, their relatives will certainly suffer,” the Chechen human rights defender told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Threats of blood feud against the Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s relatives are unlikely to be fulfilled, suggests Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations. “They may be detained, kept in some places, intimidated, deprived of their jobs, but not killed. I am absolutely convinced of that,” Ruslan Kutaev told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, threats of murder against critics of the authorities are being voiced to discourage others. “They demonstrate that all relatives of the persons who criticize the power will have problems. Any person and any of his relatives will have real difficulties if he dares to express criticism,” Ruslan Kutaev emphasized.

He believes it is strange to declare blood revenge to people who did not commit any murder. “What is happening now is not a new trend of intimidation. It just shows that people do not know the adats. Blood feud may be declared in reaction to a murder. But the Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s relatives did not kill anyone, and, therefore, there is no reason to declare blood feud to them,” said the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 28, 2021 at 06:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.