Chechen residents treat Bastrykin's idea to fingerprint all NCFD residents differently

The offer of Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) of Russia, to enforce mandatory fingerprinting for all citizens of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), caused extremely negative reaction in public and human rights activists. However, President Ramzan Kadyrov has treated this initiative as "normal".

Alexander Bastrykin's idea was already negatively referenced by Ziyad Sabsabi, Senator from Chechnya, and Chechen Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev.

"The idea of mandatory fingerprinting in the NCFD is a breach of human rights. I am registered in Grozny, but I'll refuse to undergo this procedure. By offering such measures, the state is passing the verdict: people who live in Northern Caucasus are a priori guilty," Mr Sabsabi has emphasized.

Nurdi Nukhazhiev has treated the total fingerprinting and DNA assaying of residents of a whole region as "anti-constitutional and encroaching on citizens' rights." "This is an argument into hands of Russia's enemies and a threat to the federal state; we give Russia's critics another chance to gloat on the friend or foe issue," he said.

Activists of some Chechen NGOs are same categorical. "Demanding that residents of one region of the Russian Federation undergo mandatory fingerprinting is immorally and criminal," said the head of one of them.

According to his version, the argument that in the USA fingerprints are taken from all the foreigners entering the country does not fit here, since we talk about citizens of their own country. In his opinion, such initiatives "are purposefully forming the opinion in residents of Northern Caucasus that they are not a part of Russia."

The source was also extremely negative to statements of Presidents of Chechnya and Ingushetia, who supported Bastrykin's idea. However, as he said, their behaviour is understandable - both of are Kremlin's prot?g?s and must support the initiatives of the federal centre. He asserts that fingerprints and DNA assays should be taken, first of all, from local power agents, as it can open plenty of recent crimes.