Atmosphere of cruelty in Chechnya leads to Gakaev's murder

The supposed killer of Imam Gakaev looks like an unhealthy person, who took a far-fetched motive as a guide to action, but with a similar motive of fighting against sorcerers, he had appealed to Chechen authorities and sought their support. The crime was caused by the general atmosphere of cruelty reigning in Chechnya, experts on the Caucasus and human rights defenders believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 14, it became known about the murder of Abdurakhim Gakaev, a resident of the village of Voskresenovskoye, Shelkovskoi District, committed in the eyes of his child. Sources said he was the village Mullah. A 30-year-old suspect in committing Gakaev's murder has been detained. An oppositional Telegram channel reported that several months before the attack, the suspect recorded a video appeal, in which he announced his fight against sorcerers and asked the head of the republic for support.

Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes that the supposed killer is an unhealthy person; and the campaign against witchcraft was not of decisive importance for him. The motive for the crime could be the dissatisfaction of the "consumer" with the provided services.

According to Mr Kutaev, the incident causes outrage and has no justification. He believes that one should not expect pressure on the so-called "Islamic healers".

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the chair of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, believes that the general atmosphere of reprisals could have influenced the actions of this mentally unhealthy person.

"There was a campaign against witches. However, it was not witches who were recognized as such, but women who used treatment, for example, with herbs," she has stated.

There is no prevention of people's mental health in the society; therefore, this person's statements were paid no attention to.

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