15:06, 21 April 2023

Refusal to investigate Selimkhanov’s kidnapping recognized illegal for fourth time

Investigators four times refused to institute a criminal case on the kidnapping by Chechen law enforcers of Ibragim Selimkhanov, a native of Dagestan, and the prosecutor’s office once again recognized the above decision on refusal as illegal, the “SK SOS Crisis Group” reported.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on October 18, 2021, the “SK SOS Crisis Group” reported that the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) had not provided the court with materials on the complaint filed about the investigators’ inaction in the case on the complaint about the kidnapping of Ibragim Selimkhanov.

On May 15, 2021, four men in civilian clothes approached Ibragim Selimkhanov in Moscow. They spoke Chechen. According to Ibragim Selimkhanov, those people seized his ID, apartment keys, and mobile phone, and then forced him into a car and took him to the “Vnukovo” Airport, where they bought him a ticket to Grozny. In Chechnya, the law enforcers placed him with his relatives on the mother’s side, with whom Ibragim Selimkhanov had never communicated before. The law enforcers also controlled him, but he managed to quietly escape from the house and leave Chechnya.

Earlier, Miron Rozanov, the spokesperson for the “SK SOS Crisis Group”, reported that Ibragim Selimkhanov stayed safe outside of Russia. “In general, in our practice, public statements about crimes in Northern Caucasus, in particular from members of the LGBTQ+ community, do not receive due attention from the law enforcement bodies. In particular, since 2017, no real checks have been carried out on the complaints of Aminat Lorsanova and Maxim Lapunov,” said Miron Rozanov as quoted by the “Kavkaz. Realii”*.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 20, 2023 at 11:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot