05 August 2024, 23:39
Chechen natives’ claims to prisoner exchange seem to be justified, Oleg Orlov* notes
Human rights defender Oleg Orlov*, who was released in the prisoner exchange, called the discontent voiced by members of the Chechen diaspora in Europe justified, as there were no prisoners from Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia on the prisoner exchange list.
The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on August 1, human rights defender Oleg Orlov*, sentenced to 2.5 years of imprisonment in a case on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces, 19-year-old Kevin Lik, convicted of high treason, and politician Andrei Pivovarov, who was sentenced to imprisonment for participating in the activities of an undesirable organization, had been released as part of a prisoner exchange with Western countries.
The Russian side handed over sixteen prisoners, including US citizens and people with two citizenships, at the airport in Ankara, while the US and other Western countries handed over eight prisoners, including Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a native of Chechnya.
In his interview to human rights defender Oleg Orlov*, Chechen oppositionist Islam Belokiev emphasized that members of the Chechen diaspora in the European countries are dissatisfied with the fact that no natives of Chechnya were included in the prisoner exchange list. In particular, Zarema Musaeva and Said-Mukhammad Djumaev were not included in the prisoner exchange list.
The criticism is “absolutely fair,” the human rights defender responded as quoted by the “Mysli Islama” (Thoughts of Islam) Telegram channel.
“Where are Abdulmumin Gadjiev, Zarema Musaeva, and the leaders of the Ingush protests? Why didn’t the Russian liberals, who promoted their own associates, stand up for them? Not to mention that the inclusion of Vadim Krasikov in the prison exchange list is a slap in the face of the Chechen people,” Islam Belokiev wrote in his Telegram channel.
Abubakar Yangulbaev, a native of Chechnya, a son of Zarema Musaeva, also pointed to the above fact. “Yes, it is impossible to save everyone. But it is possible to adhere to the basic principles of justice ... Unfortunately, neither Said-Mukhammad Djumaev, nor Zarema Musaeva, nor any other Chechen political prisoners appeared on the prisoner exchange list,” Abubakar Yangulbaev wrote in his Telegram channel.
*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 5, 2024 at 01:43 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: Caucasian Knot
