Human rights defenders report about “cleanups” in Chechnya after attack on law enforcers

After an attack on a column of the “Rosgvardia” (National Guard of Russia), law enforcers in Chechnya detain men and offer them to go to the special military operation. Dozens of such cases have been reported by people. The detention of Rizvan Batyrov, a disabled resident of Argun, was explained by law enforcers by the contents of his mobile phone.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on October 24, a car with “Rosgvardia” fighters came under fired in the suburbs of Grozny. As a result, one soldier was killed, and another was wounded. The attackers fled from the scene. The “Rosgvardia” fighter perished because the attack took the law enforcers by surprise, veterans of the law enforcement bodies suggest. The killing of the “Rosgvardia” fighter in Chechnya can indicate the activation of the armed underground, but it is unlikely to affect the reputation of Ramzan Kadyrov, who had earlier announced the elimination of militants, political analysts believe.

On October 26, in almost all populated areas near the village of Petropavlovskaya in the Grozny District, law enforcers checked IDs of residents, checked if there were any unregistered persons in their houses, and also checked the documents for vehicles, the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence* reported.

For the slightest violation of the norms established in Chechnya, men fit to be sent to the special military operation (SMO) were taken to the police, their mobile phones were confiscated, and they were detained if any information proving visiting Telegram channels of critics of the Chechen authorities was found. “We are receiving information about detainees who are being offered to go to the front line, or a criminal case will be instituted against them. There is a group of 20 detainees in the Staropromyslovsky Interior Department,” the human rights defenders indicated, noting that relatives of the detainees “were afraid to worsen” their fate.

Nevertheless, it became known about the detention of disabled person Rizvan Batyrov in Argun. A group of armed law enforcers beat the man in front of his elderly mother and took him away with them.

“The relatives were told that the law enforcers found something on the Rizvan’s mobile phone that is not allowed for Chechens. This could be visiting websites of critics of the Chechen authorities. Besides, it is possible that the policemen themselves downloaded something prohibited to his mobile phone. There is a risk that a criminal case will be fabricated against the man,” a lawyer from the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD)* emphasized.

*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 register 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.”