Human rights defenders see danger in Ramzan Kadyrov's threats in absence of reaction from President Putin

In Russia, investigators are unlikely to give a move to the complaint filed by human rights defenders regarding threats voiced by Ramzan Kadyrov, so the fact of filing such a complaint is just a symbolic gesture. In the absence of reaction to the above threats from the authorities, subordinates of Ramzan Kadyrov can perceive his statements as a guide to action, the human rights defenders believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 22, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" and the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) stated that the calls for killings voiced by Ramzan Kadyrov undermined the power of the authorities and requested investigators to verify his statements.

The complaint itself will not be able to significantly affect the alignment of forces in Chechnya, but it has symbolic significance, emphasizes MHG co-Chair Dmitry Makarov.

"We live in a system where the leader of the republic is engaged in arbitrariness, and he gets away with it ... Impunity of law enforcers as a whole in Russia is a problem of the system," Dmitry Makarov noted.

If the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) refuses to institute criminal proceedings because of the threatening statements voiced by Ramzan Kadyrov, this will once again show that the leader of the region is allowed doing everything, including committing malicious violations of the law, believes Oleg Orlov, a member of the board of the HRC "Memorial".

Let us remind you that in August 2018, Ramzan Kadyrov declared human rights defenders, who criticized the actions of the law enforcement bodies after attacks on policemen in the republic, to be enemies of residents of Chechnya. The leader of Chechnya put human rights defenders on a par with militants.