Residents of Chechnya report severe sentences to 14 young people for terrorism

Young residents of the Kurchaloi District of Chechnya have been sentenced to long prison terms on charges of terrorist crimes; their relatives did not see the convicts for 18 months after detention, residents of the republic told the "Caucasian Knot".

A message about the sentencing 14 young people from the Kurchaloi District of Chechnya was received by the SMS-service of the "Caucasian Knot" in the evening on September 12. "14 guys from the Kurchaloi District were sentenced to 10, 12 and 14 years in prison. For about one and a half years, while the investigation was underway, relatives could not visit the detainees," says the message.

According to the author of the message, the sentence to young people was passed on September 12, while prior to their official arrest they were kept at the units of one of power structures. The message is accompanied by videos, which are discussed by residents of Chechnya in the WhatsApp. According to their data, the youngest of the convicts is 17 years old; the oldest is 25.

One of the videos lasting 2 minutes and 20 seconds shows people standing at the courthouse, many weeping women among them. One of them says in the Chechen language that her son was sentenced to ten years, but she does not know what he was guilty of.

"We do not know why they are being scattered among [prisons]. We are a powerless nation; so many killed and missing people are not enough for them," says the woman, whose words were translated into Russian by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 13, 2018 at 01:53 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.