Human rights defenders call on families of people kidnapped in Chechnya not to neglect publicity

When commenting on the kidnappings of 25 people in the village of Alkhan-Kala, human rights defenders stated that families of people kidnapped in Chechnya more often tried to return their relatives through personal connections rather than with the help of publicity and lawyers. However, according to the human rights defenders, the families of those kidnapped should apply to all authorities, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on January 18, the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial” announced that the information about the kidnappings of at least 25 residents of the village of Alkhan-Kala by Chechen law enforcers was confirmed, and that the whereabouts of the kidnapped residents remain unknown.

Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial”, believes that the law enforcers looked for those kidnapped using mobile phones of the people detained earlier.

“There is a possibility that the detainees will be released. Enforced disappearances of people in Chechnya often end up with the people being released,” Oleg Orlov stated.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”*, advises relatives of the kidnapped people to contact all possible authorities and the administration of the leader of Chechnya.

The chair of the “Civic Assistance Committee”* believes that relatives of the kidnapped people will try to take advantage of their personal connections. “Chechnya is small, everyone has family ties, acquaintances ... and relatives of relatives eventually turn out to be relatives of Ramzan Kadyrov,” Svetlana Gannushkina added.

Human rights defender Igor Kalyapin emphasizes that according to the law, families should be notified by the law enforcement bodies about the fates of their relatives within 48 hours, which was not done in the case of the people kidnapped in the village of Alkhan-Kala.

According to Igor Kalyapin, appeals to the leader of Chechnya should be effective. “Ramzan Kadyrov needs to be reminded that what is happening is not according to the Russian law, which he must protect,” the human rights defender said.

Igor Kalyapin believes that the mass kidnappings in the Alkhan-Kala village can hardly be attributed to the fact that the kidnapped people were subscribed to Telegram channels undesirable for the authorities of Chechnya.

*The organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs, performing the functions of a foreign agent.