Anxiety and low education have become the reason for the "witch hunt" in the North Caucasus.

Witchcraft is forbidden in Islam, but vigilantism is unacceptable, the imams stated while commenting on the murder of a resident of Ingushetia. Low education in Islam and anxiety in society have become factors that provoke aggression, emphasized a Caucasian studies expert and a psychologist. Even if the defense of the accused in the murder proves that the victim was engaged in witchcraft, this will not be a mitigating circumstance, the lawyer is convinced.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", three residents of Ingushetia have been detained for the murder of a resident of Sunzha, the Investigative Committee reported. The detainees claim that the man cast a spell on the brother of one of them, a source said.

An imam from Adygea Asfar Myss stated that witchcraft is unequivocally forbidden in Islam.

Vigilantism has no right to exist. But we do not have Sharia courts, so this is how it happens. And in them, of course, the judicial process relies on evidence.

"Unfortunately, we have soothsayers thriving. In any case, vigilantism has no right to exist. But we do not have Sharia courts, so this is how it happens. And in them, of course, the judicial process relies on evidence," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The imam of one of the Moscow mosques Rufat Khazrya confirmed that according to Sharia, witchcraft is haram and can be punished by death. "But an ordinary person has no right to violence in principle. Neither in Sharia nor in secular laws. This is the prerogative of law enforcement agencies," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

Periodic "cleansings" of witches occur in the North Caucasian republics, reminded a Russian Caucasian studies expert.

"This has happened in waves, first in Chechnya, where they cleansed the area of fortune-tellers who were supposedly connected with jinn, and there were campaigns against witches in Dagestan, as is currently happening in Ingushetia," he told a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot" on condition of anonymity.

The Caucasian studies expert pointed out that the initiative for such campaigns comes from local communities.

"I think that only in Chechnya it coincided that the public desire resonates with the desire of the authorities. In Chechnya, little happens without the approval of the state. In Dagestan or Ingushetia, this happened due to the rise of sentiments leading, so to speak, to the purification of Islam, as understood by local residents. Therefore, they monitor people who are declared witches, in my opinion, in Ingush they are called 'dzhinash tainstag' - 'sharing secrets with jinn'. The other thing is that taking violent action against them according to Sharia without a court is not allowed. But Islamic education is very low, and there is no understanding of how to act according to Sharia, which leads to vigilantism," he explained.

Aggression comes from a general sense of instability, anxiety.

At the same time, according to the Caucasian studies expert, the strengthening of such sentiments that lead to aggression against certain groups of people or individuals is facilitated by the overall anxiety in society.

"Aggression comes from a general sense of instability, anxiety, and so on. Then the witch hunt begins. This is precisely a testimony to the state of society," the Caucasian studies expert concluded.

The psychologist named the desire to shift responsibility onto others as the reason for the persecution of witches.

Social psychologist, active member and teacher of the All-Russian Professional Psychotherapeutic League Nailya Birarova noted a number of reasons why people take the threat of witchcraft seriously.

"Firstly, because, most likely, someone grew up with this, someone saw some, perhaps, confirmations in the family, someone saw it among acquaintances, friends, someone saw it on television, that is, it made a very significant impression on someone, and someone sincerely believed that there is great power in this. Many people tend to think that there is a 'magic pill' that can save them from many troubles, problems, and the most dangerous thing — suppress the will of another person. That is, all these magics, love spells, witchcraft, curses, and everything else have what goal behind them? The people who do this want the other person to be subject to their will. And this is actually the most dangerous move. When we try to suppress the will of another person, we do not even see the power of the Almighty, but we begin to place ourselves above that person. In other words, we want to do what we need, regardless of whether the other person needs it. If this causes aggression, if, for example, someone was offended or said some offensive word, perhaps envied or looked at them the wrong way, a factor of revenge arises within the person, and they also turn to the magical component," she explained.

These are done by people who have not mentally matured. These are people who believe in tales, in fairy tales, and think that if they tie some knot, then problems will be solved.

However, according to the social psychologist, mature, conscious adults with a certain level of education and upbringing will never do this.

"These are done by people who have not mentally matured. These are people who believe in tales, in fairy tales, and think that if they tie some knot, then problems will be solved, and they will be able to get what they want quickly with a snap of their fingers. But it doesn't work that way. Here, a psychological mechanism is triggered that indicates that a person tends to shift responsibility onto something external, and their psyche is still not mature enough. They want to suppress, lull the vigilance of a person through ritual actions. In their eyes, they gain immense power, dominate over the will of another person. The danger lies in the fact that this construction collapses with some event in life, and it always catches up with the one who does it. This is not a very good thing in terms of the psychological aspect. A person seeks false supports, while they should rely on themselves, on their inner stability," Birarova said.

According to her, since the actions of witches are perceived as destructive, aggression can arise against them.

"It should be understood that in our lives there are also fraudsters, thieves, murderers, and maniacs. And there are people, in the opinion of society, who cast spells. They provoke aggression, this is the basis. Because, firstly, this is an incomprehensible act, that is, what they do is unclear. And, secondly, it can often harm another person or their family, destroy a family, or cause harm to health. People believe in the placebo effect, believe in some non-existent fairy tales they have invented for themselves. Because this is still an unscientific sphere, unprovable, and half of the people believe, half do not believe. Therefore, such people will likely always provoke aggression; they will always take on the negative influx from ordinary people. How to prevent this: raise people's consciousness, cultivate an adult person within oneself, take responsibility for oneself, and not shift it onto someone else. In short: grow up!" Birarova concluded.

Witchcraft is not criminalized in Russia.

Lawyer Timofey Shirokov expressed doubt that the accusation of witchcraft against the deceased could somehow affect the nature of the accusation under Russian laws.

"Witchcraft is not a criminal act in the Russian Federation. Most likely, the motivation for the accused will be determined by personal animosity. There are probably no aggravating circumstances here. As for mitigating circumstances, the only thing that comes to mind is to emphasize the 'immoral behavior' of the victim. But this is an evaluative category, and it seems to me that in the context of secular law, in a secular legal system, it is unlikely that witchcraft can be qualified as immoral behavior. If the victim walked naked down the street, then one could refer to immorality, but in the case of accusations of witchcraft, this is difficult to prove. But theoretically, the defense can claim that the activities of the victim contradict local moral values," he said.

According to the lawyer, "false accusations of witchcraft" are also unlikely to be appropriate.

"At most, one can probably talk about slander, but even that is difficult to prove. In any case, this is a separate composition that will probably not be related to the fact of applying violence by itself," Shirokov explained.