Rights defenders reveal 39 "honour killings" in Northern Caucasus in five years

The "Legal Initiative" has prepared a report on women who fell victim to honour killings in the period from 2012 to 2017. The rights defenders launched a campaign in social networks #Killedbygossip about the fate of the victims in Chechnya and Dagestan.

The stories of the victims are published on Facebook. The first story tells about a murder of a 25-year-old woman in Dagestan in 2014. According to relatives, because of the "rumours" in the village, a cousin inflicted nine stab wounds to the young woman and left her to die at home. Meanwhile, relatives did not consider him a criminal.

The victims of such crimes are mostly young unmarried or divorced, less often married women of 20-30 years old. Most "honour killings" were registered in Dagestan.

The second story reports about a murder of sisters Aza and Seda in Dagestan. In 2015, the girls were killed by their father, who was dissatisfied with their "late walks."

The third story reports about a 38-year-old woman from Chechnya who was divorced and took care of a child. Her father treated her behaviour as obscene and he strangled her.

The authorities of Russia refuse to admit the existence of the problem of domestic violence, notes Olga Gnezdilova, an advocate from the "Lawyer Initiative".

The "Caucasian Knot" has repeatedly reported about cases when relatives punished women suspected of non-marital relationship in Chechnya.