Social media users demanded harsh punishment for the death of a child in Abkhazia.

Those responsible for the beating of a three-year-old girl who died in Abkhazia must be made an example of, social media commentators stated. They believe that child protection authorities are partly to blame for the child's death.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," a three-year-old girl from the Gulripsh district of Abkhazia died as a result of abuse and violence by members of her own family.

Commentators reacted emotionally to the child's death

A girl has died in the Gulripsh district of Abkhazia after being abused by family members.

The announcement garnered 416 comments on the Caucasian Knot* Facebook page, which has 161,000 subscribers, as of 11:59 AM Moscow time.

The incident sparked emotional comments. Thus, many commentators expressed their feelings of pain and compassion for the child.

"Poor child. So little! What could she have done to be beaten so brutally?" asked Tatiana Tsulaia.

"Lord, my heart aches for you, little angel. May your little soul rest in peace," left an emotional message from Regina Gubaz.

"What a horror. Poor child," noted Nina Baslandze.

Many commentators condemned the cruelty of those who beat the child.

"How vile it is to beat those who cannot fight back. "This is completely beyond comprehension...," Yuliana Shevtsova was indignant.

"Even animals protect their children! Damn them!" writes Sabuhi Mammadaliyev.

"People have become somehow different, merciless. May God punish whoever did this," believes Elena Kobalia.

Commentators demanded harsh punishment

02:54 10.12.2019

Human rights activists argued about the reasons Child Abuse in the Caucasus

High-profile cases of female violence against children in Dagestan and Ingushetia are linked to the general brutalization of society, changing family structures, and the practice of transferring children to the father's family after divorce, according to Libkan Bazaeva and Zemfira Dzalayeva. Svetlana Anokhina believes that patriarchal society tolerates violence, and the role of men in these situations is decisive.

Most commenters expressed the opinion that such actions against a defenseless child require the most severe punishment.

"The punishment must be severe!!!" said Lida Jeyranyan.

"Only the death penalty," wrote Angela Bandasarova.

"He should be given a life sentence," said Kukhi Nur Sokieva.

Where are the child protection services? The neighbors probably saw and heard. Why was everyone silent?

Other users called for lynching and brutal reprisals.

Users demanded attention to what was happening in the families.

"Did no one notice anything?" asks Dinara Gabunia.

"Where are the child protection services? The neighbors probably saw and heard. Why was everyone silent?" asked Irina Konovalova Chernova.

"Was no one there to protect the child?" asks Natela Agrba.

Courts In the south of Russia, different approaches to punishing parents for the death of their children are being demonstrated.

Cases of child deaths due to domestic violence have recently occurred in the regions of the North Caucasus.

On April 21, 2023, a three-year-old girl from Kaspiysk, who was brutally beaten by her pregnant mother, died in the hospital. The woman has four children. According to the children's rights commissioner in the republic, the remaining children have been transferred to the guardianship of another family. The court arrested the accused, and guardianship authorities demanded that she be deprived of parental rights to three more children.

The death of a child always causes a great deal of resonance, and society reacts sharply to such cruelty. However, cases of domestic violence often go unnoticed, says Ekaterina Neroznikova, coordinator of the human rights group Marem. "The death of a child causes public unrest, a huge wave of hate, and demands for the death penalty or some other very harsh punishment for the mother. If a child dies, everyone immediately becomes concerned, but it's a shame that they often don't react before then," she said.

Moreover, the punishment doesn't always meet expectations. For example, the Malgobek District Court in Ingushetia sentenced Tamila Mutsolgova, whose four-year-old daughter died after prolonged torture in 2023, to three years' probation. Social media users considered her sentence too lenient.

On April 30, 2023, a four-year-old girl was taken to a hospital in Malgobek in serious condition, where she died on May 16. The girl's mother was arrested and charged with causing grievous bodily harm to her daughter. The child's death caused a great stir in Ingushetia: numerous sources testified that the girl was subjected to brutal sexual violence, something that was not mentioned by official sources. Human rights activists demanded that the inactive child protection officials be held accountable.

In Adygea, on the contrary, a court sentenced a woman to a lengthy prison term for beating a child. Zaira Arbech, the mother of a three-year-old girl who died after being beaten, was sentenced to 13 years in prison; the appellate court reduced her sentence by only two months. A charge of fraudulent payment was added to the case of abuse and neglect.

Publications and public discussion contribute to humanizing attitudes toward children and, to a certain extent, prevent child abuse: people who beat their children become more cautious when they learn about the possible punishment, Neroznikova noted earlier.