Human rights defenders associate silence of Tumso’s relatives with Chechen traditions and realities

When commenting on the silence of Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s relatives after the version of his murder had appeared, human rights defenders Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya and Caucasian expert Ruslan Kutaev have pointed out that according to the local traditions, no mourning events for a deceased person are held in Chechnya if the body of the deceased is not delivered home. The silence of the Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s relatives may be their way to protect themselves, suggests human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 1, the information appeared on the Internet about the murder of Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov in Sweden. Shamil Albakov, a member of the Assembly of Chechens of Europe, and lawyer Abubakar Yangulbaev expressed the hope that the disappearance of Tumso Abdurakhmanov can be explained by an operation conducted by the Swedish special services.

The relatives may know about Tumso Abdurakhmanov’s death, but not disclose the information, suggests Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”*. According to her, if the relatives decide to hold a mourning event, the authorities will regard such an act as support for Tumso Abdurakhmanov.

According to the Chechen traditions, condolence events, in particular, the opening of the gate, do not begin until the body of the deceased is delivered to his house or the house of his relatives, Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, confirms.

“They must have iron evidence that a person close to them has died, and this is a very important condition for holding mourning events,” Ruslan Kutaev said.

If there are only reports from the authorities about someone’s death, then, according to the Chechen traditions, this is not a reason for recognizing a person as deceased. However, in Chechnya, the authorities can put pressure on relatives of a deceased person, Ruslan Kutaev believes.

*The organization is included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NGOs performing the functions of a foreign action.