Residents of Chechnya report systematic detentions of men with beards

The practice of detaining young men wearing beards is systematic in Chechnya, local residents report. Observers note that the number of such detentions increases sharply after statements made by the head of Chechnya.

Raids to reveal young men with beards began in the country after the incident in Tsentoroy (Khosi-Yurt), the ancestral village of the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, where the wall of a building was decorated with symbols of the "Islamic State". After that, three young men were detained in the village, the head of a local NGO told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Raids against bearded men occurred earlier; and every time this happened after Ramzan Kadyrov's angry speech, who demands from power agents, heads of local self-governments and clergymen to intensify efforts to combat extremism, terrorism and Wahhabism. This is what happened this time as well. Literally on the following day after Ramzan met the bosses of his power structures and once again raised the topic of Wahhabism, they began catching young men with beards in the central marketplace in Grozny," the head of the NGO said on the condition of anonymity.

According to his story, power agents detain young men with beards "only by their appearance."

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