Ingush authorities associate information about officials' paying militants with elections

Shamsail Saraliev, a State Duma Deputy from Chechnya, has sent a request to the Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika asking to check the information about payment of large sums of money to the armed underground by the head of the Ingush government, as it was stated on air of Channel One by the surrendered militant Ibragim Torzhkhoev. In Ingushetia, the situation was treated as a provocation on the eve of the presidential election in the republic.

The story with an interview with Torzhkhoev was shown by Channel One on March 29. The record of the programme and its transcript are published on the website of the channel.

"The so-called Cheliev, an Ingush official, gives a million dollars monthly to militants for them not to attack him," said Torzhkhoev, adding that ordinary militants receive nothing of the money.

The head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov said today at a press conference in Magas that the information about the Ingush official, who allegedly pays tribute to militants, was an election provocation.

In the opinion of Evkurov, the broadcast statement "was undoubtedly associated with the election of the head of the republic, upcoming in September 2013.

"A priori, it is hard to imagine that the Prime Minister Musa Chiliev will pay someone being afraid of anything. I'm sure he would never admit this. These are baby filths of some former officials," the "Interfax" quotes the head of Ingushetia as stressing.