Chechen residents concerned over Umarov's statement on detentions for photo collage with Kadyrov

Djambulat Umarov, Chechen Minister of National Policy, declared inaccurate the reports about the detention of 25 Chechen residents for disseminating a photo collage with Ramzan Kadyrov. Meanwhile, the Chechen minister confirmed the authorities' willingness to "teach a lesson" to people disseminating such photo collages, residents of the republic note.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 25, the "Kavkaz.Realii" reported that a day earlier, in Chechnya, law enforcers detained 25 people involved in the dissemination of the photo collage in which Ramzan Kadyrov was depicted in the attire of an Orthodox priest. According to the "Kavkaz.Realii", the detainees, including schoolchildren, spent a night at a detention facility, where they were subjected to pressure.

On January 27, Chechen Press Minister Djambulat Umarov posted on his Instagram page a video of his comment voiced during a correspondence conversation with a Russian news agency reporter. In the video, Djambulat Umarov declared the information about the detention of 25 people unreliable.

According to the Chechen minister, "no dubious jokes of such kind" were "used and will not be used" in Chechnya. "And if anything, it's better to warn a dozen or two dozen troublemakers and villains and to clearly explain to them what consequences they can bring to their people with their drawings and cartoons," Djambulat Umarov said.

Umar, a resident of Chechnya, drew attention to the minister's phrase about the warning for "a dozen or two dozen troublemakers and villains." "Judging by how long and brightly the minister were answering that rather simple question and by his statement that it is better to prevent a" bunch of villains," we can suggest that there were still mass detentions of people for the photo collage with Ramzan Kadyrov," Umar told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 28, 2019 at 11:37 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.