Rights defenders outraged at absence of proper reaction to beating girl in Khasavyurt

The absence of a criminal case into the beating of a 16-year-old girl by her father in Khasavyurt was a shortcoming of the responsible services and law enforcement bodies; such indifference creates the ground for new violence cases against children by their relatives.

A criminal case has not yet been opened on the fact of the beating of a 16-year-old girl by her father in Dagestani Khasavyurt, the coordinator of the project "Caucasus without Mother" told the "Caucasus Knot".

There is almost no hope that the perpetrators will be punished.

"The police still have to conduct an inquiry. But, given that the girl is under the influence and constant control of those relatives who were with her during the incident, there is almost no hope that the perpetrators will be punished," the coordinator has suggested.

As for the girl's health condition, there have been some minor changes for the better. "She is no longer under the intensive care; she was transferred to an ordinary ward. Her health has improved a little," the source has added.

Saida Sirazhudinova, President of the Centre for Studying Modern Global Issues and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development", is concerned about the "sluggish" law enforcers’ reaction to the incident. "In theory, there should have been a criminal case. But pay attention, there’s no reaction from anyone. The Ombudsperson is silent. The police are silent. In Dagestani online groups as a whole, there is zero information," she told the "Caucasian Knot".

A prompt reaction is very important, especially in such a case.

In situations like this, law enforcement bodies must react immediately, and the initial result should be a criminal case, Ms Sirazhudinova has pointed out. "A quick reaction is very important. <...> Cases of violence against children require special attention. Responsibility is precisely a preventive measure. However, it is just difficult to hold violators accountable. We see indifference in high-profile cases," she has noted and added: "It feels like many child protection services are far from fulfilling their duties."

They should have investigated immediately, when there were fresh traces of beatings.

Law enforcement agencies were very slow in investigating the beating of the girl, says Lydia Mikhalchenko, the author of the project "Caucasus without Mother".

"They should have investigated immediately, when there were fresh traces of beatings, injuries, toxins from pills, cuts on her hands. Several different people, independent of each other, told us that her father had beaten her many times. Then, several people began writing to us and explaining what had actually happened, and their versions differed. It was clear that their goal was to whitewash the culprit. But we managed to find a witness who has confirmed that the girl had been beaten by her father. We tried to connect this witness with investigators. To be honest, we don't know what happened next," Ms Mikhalchenko told the "Caucasian Knot".

Human rights defenders have the feeling that no one will initiate a criminal case. "If she lives in a loving family; and the girl has to cut her hands with a knife, then the question arises: where were the family members who love her so much? In a word, there is definitely something to investigate. But it seems that according to the good Dagestani tradition of nepotism and corruption, no one will do this," Lydia Mikhalchenko has concluded.

Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, also believes that in such situations there should be a quick law enforcers’ reaction.

If there is a public outcry, they will not be able to hush up the case.

"There should be an immediate reaction to the beating of a child, especially since the girl got under intensive care. And there is still no criminal case. This may actually indicate that they are not very interested in opening a case," Ms Gannushkina* told the "Caucasian Knot".

She advises contacting the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights. "If there is a public outcry, they will not be able to hush up the case," she has noted.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 22, 2025 at 09:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

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