In Kabardino-Balkaria, militants' parents urge their sons to lay down arms

A group of 11 parents from the Baksan District, Kabardino-Balkaria, has addressed their sons, who are on the wanted list and accused of involvement in illegal armed formations (IAFs), with an appeal to lay down their arms.

The appeal says, in particular: "Your illegal activity, having nothing to do with the real Islam, has put our country on the brink of a fratricidal war. A lot of innocent people have suffered from you; children became orphans; and families who lost their loved ones are grief-stricken."

The parents state that they reject, like most residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, beliefs of their sons, and most importantly - the path of violence that they had chosen: "You torture us and make us suffer. Pity us if you are no longer capable to pity yourself."

"They deceived you by persuading that there is nothing valuable; but life is a great gift from Allah, and only He knows what is true and what is false. You cannot assume the role of Allah and decide who should live and who should die. You are mistaken, and we beg you to change your mind. Go back to your children for the sake of Allah. They are waiting for you. And we, your parents, are also waiting for you and hope that you will come to senses," runs the appeal.

On March 11 at a press conference, Valery Ustov, head of the Investigatory Committee, offered all the non-blood-stained militants to surrender to law enforcement authorities, promising a fair investigation. "We are ready to hold a highly qualified investigation with attraction of advocates," he said.

Mr Ustov gave an example, when on terrorist cases people who agreed to cooperate with the investigation, received up to five years of imprisonment. They were members of the Prokhladnoe grouping, and a member of the grouping, which was involved in murdering the employees of the Russian Federal Punishment Service (UFSIN) for Kabardino-Balkaria on May 22, 2010. Valery Ustov believes that they "escaped with a slight shock."