Chechen MIA reports no complaints about disappearances

According to the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), the reports of the kidnapping of a young man in the Leninsky District of Grozny on February 5 have not been confirmed, as well as the posts in social networks about the disappearance of seven persons. Meanwhile, only two of seven persons mentioned as disappeared have denied the information, and the whereabouts of other five persons were not reported by them or their relatives, a leader of a local NGO reports.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by an official from the Chechen MIA that field investigators had questioned local residents, and no one had but confirmed the message about disappearances.

On February 2, after the spread of the information in social networks about the disappearance of young men and women in Chechnya, the "Grozny" TV Channel presented a story on the subject. Meanwhile, two of seven persons mentioned as disappeared a 16-year-old teenager and a 14-year-old girl personally denied the rumours about their disappearance.

According to a leader of a local NGO, it is possible that the messages about disappearance of people were well-founded. He also does not rule out that the dissemination of messages through social networks was designed to undermine the credibility of the reports of that kind.

Local residents said that they were alarmed by the messages about the disappearance of people.

In the period from October to late December 2015, in Chechnya, at least 24 people were kidnapped by law enforcers, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" reports. According to the human rights defenders, one of the kidnapped men is found dead, and the fate of six persons remains unknown.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.