HRW points to human rights violations in Chechnya and Dagestan

In 2022, amid the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine, Chechen authorities continued suppressing the dissent, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has noted. Its report also mentions the persecutions of opponents of mobilization in Dagestan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in November 2022, the UN Human Rights Committee pointed to human rights violations in Northern Caucasus, highlighting the persecution of Salekh Magamadov and Ismail Isaev, natives of Chechnya, who were convicted of aiding a militant, as well as the suppression of protests against mobilization.

"Chechen authorities, headed by Ramzan Kadyrov, continued to ruthlessly suppress any manifestations of dissent," the HRW's report says.

In particular, Chechen law enforcers detained dozens of relatives of the Chechen bloggers and activists who had emigrated and are criticizing Kadyrov. Their families were forced to "apologize" and publicly disown their departed relatives.

The abduction and the "contrived criminal case" of Zarema Musaeva are mentioned separately.

The HRW has also noted reports about the extrajudicial execution of the 19-year-old Salman Tepsurkaev, who was kidnapped in 2020.

In 2022, Ramzan Kadyrov "became the leading figure on the information agenda" that was promoting the SMO in Ukraine, human rights activists have pointed out. Last October, he called for "wiping Ukrainian cities off the face of the earth." He organized sending of several thousand Chechen fighters to Ukraine; and human rights organizations reported complaints received from local residents about the forced mobilization of their relatives.

As an example of a violation of the right to the freedom of assembly, the criminal cases initiated against participants in protests against mobilization in Makhachkala are mentioned in the report.