Relatives publicly renounce Chechen blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov

The relatives of Tumso Abdurakhmanov, who live in Chechnya, have renounced him and declared that they would not avenge his death. This was done by authorities' pressure; and the blogger's relatives just wanted to safeguard themselves, human rights defenders believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on April 16, the blogger noted the violent reaction of Ramzan Kadyrov and his supporters to Tumso's criticism of Akhmat Kadyrov, Ramzan's father. In late April, two Kadyrov's fellow villagers recorded a video with threats to Abdurakhmanov.

"My relatives were forced to renounce me looking into the video cameras ... The video depicts my 84-year-old uncle and two cousin uncles," Abdurakhmanov wrote in his Telegram channel.

In Chechnya, the custom of renouncing relatives is of serious importance; and grounds for such a step should be extremely weighty, for example, a murder, said Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations.

According to his version, the Chechen authorities made Tumso very popular by entering discussions with him, and this made the blogger's relatives living in Chechnya vulnerable.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Civil Assistance Committee, has noted that in the Chechen society, Tumso Abdurakhmanov is treated positive; and his renunciation by relatives will not affect this attitude in any way.

The words of Abdurakhmanov's relatives that they "forgive his blood" in advance to his potential killer indicate an increased danger for the blogger, Ms Gannushkina has added.

"Tumso simply says openly what many people know, but are afraid to voice out," said Sakhib, a resident of Grozny.