Human rights activists and lawyers: Kadyrov’s call to shoot demonstrators is illegal

The order of the head of Chechnya cannot serve as a basis for the use of weapons against participants in mass riots; the use of weapons is regulated by the law “On the Police,” the lawyers pointed out. Human rights activists believe that actions similar to the riots in Makhachkala in Chechnya are possible only in a controlled format with the consent of Moscow.

According to Article 23 of the federal law “On Police,” the use of firearms is permitted in cases where there is a threat to the life of a police officer, a third party, or during an attack on a strategic state facility, emphasized lawyer, former investigator of the Investigative Committee of Russia Dmitry Dogviy.

“The police can use firearms; the law allows it. But the law also clearly states that you can shoot in case of defense against an attack if this attack involves violence threatening life or health, to detain citizens suspected of committing a serious crime if all possibilities for detention have been exhausted. The police can also use weapons to protect strategically important government buildings. If participants in some kind of action try to seize a state building, then the police have the right to use weapons and shoot to kill,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

He also noted that the head of the republic cannot give the order to “shoot in the forehead.” “The head of the republic does not have such powers. The actions of the police are regulated by law, and not by the words of the head of the republic,” the lawyer emphasized.

Chechen human rights activist Oyub Titiev agreed with him. “Not only the head of the republic, but even the president of the country does not have such a right,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

In his opinion, unrest like the one in Dagestan cannot occur in Chechnya. “Not only the control of public life by the authorities makes them impossible, but also the possibility of actual execution of the instructions of the head of the region (like Kadyrov) and the fact that this use of weapons will remain unpunished,” he noted.

The possibility of unrest in Chechnya was also ruled out by the President of the Assembly of Peoples of the Caucasus, Ruslan Kutaev. “Firstly, the Chechen authorities would quite harshly suppress any attempt at such unrest. Secondly, Chechen society itself is unanimous in the opinion that because of Israel’s actions it is impossible to persecute Jews. This is a very rare phenomenon when all Chechens have a common point of view.”