Rights defenders point to difficulties of recording kidnappings in Chechnya

No kidnapping statistics is currently run in Chechnya, as relatives of missing people are afraid to make disappearances public, human rights defenders have pointed out. Illegal detentions in Chechnya continue, but only most resonant cases become known.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 30, the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the "Memory Project" team together with the "Vyorstka"* (Layout) outlet organized an online conference to discuss the problem of kidnappings and enforced disappearances in the regions of Northern Caucasus.

The ability of human rights defenders to record enforced disappearances in Northern Caucasus, including Chechnya, has decreased, an activist of the "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD)** has informed, adding that now relatives of the missing people are not experiencing such serious pressure as before, when they were thrown out of their homes, and houses were burned down. The last such case was around 2017.

Currently, human rights defenders have no complete statistics on disappearances in Chechnya, Alexander Cherkasov from the CHRD** has informed, explaining that "there have been no such statistics since 2009, after the murder of Natasha Estemirova."

For the families of those disappeared, the worst thing is the authorities' indifference, Svetlana Gannushkina*, the head of the "Civic Assistance" Committee*, has noted.

Let us remind you that according to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), in 2023, a total of 1608 people were listed as missing in Chechnya. In this indicator, Chechnya was significantly ahead of other regions of the North-Caucasian and Southern Federal Districts (NCFD and SFD).

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.

**As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the roster of foreign agents was the spread of "inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces."