15:40, 11 June 2015

Natives of Chechnya admit reality of death threat against Elena Milashina

Grozny. Photo by Magomed Magomedov for the "Caucasian Knot"

The statements made with regard to Elena Milashina, a journalist of the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta", published in the article "US uses pawns" at the information agency "Grozny-Inform", are the evidence of a direct threat, which is not to be ignored. This opinion has been expressed by natives of Chechnya interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the editorial office of the "Novaya Gazeta" asked the Russian presidential administration and the law enforcement bodies to treat the article "US uses pawns" published by the information agency "Grozny-Inform" on May 19 as a threat to the safety of its correspondent Elena Milashina. The international human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) has also demanded to investigate the situation.

The article contains the analysis of the recent history of Russia, the situation on the geopolitical map of the world, and the situation around the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. The journalist focuses on the Elena Milashina's article about the marriage of Nazhud Guchigov, the chief of the ROVD (District Interior Division) of the Nozhai-Yurt District of Chechnya, and 17-year-old Kheda (Louiza) Goylabieva.

Journalist Varaev expresses his indignation about the article and the activities of Elena Milashina in general and mentions the fate of deceased Anna Politkovskaya.

According to a teacher of the Chechen State University, the Varaev's statement has been agreed with the Chechen authorities and is of political nature. The university teacher has also noted that Elena Milashina and rights defenders from the Committee against Torture (CAT) irritate the Chechen authorities, since they "voice controversial subjects."

Akhmed Gisaev, a lawyer and a rights defender, believes that such statements against Elena Milashina could not be voiced without the approval from Moscow.

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