Human rights defenders treat mass detentions in Grozny as hunting for Wahhabis

According to human rights defenders, residents of Chechnya, detained for wearing beards, did not appeal to them for help. According to Oleg Orlov and Tatiana Lokshina, such police raids are unlawful, since they violate the human right to freedom of religion. A source from the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported that all the people, detained in the course of preventive measures, are released.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 2 and during the past week, residents of Grozny and other large residential Settlements of Chechnya reported on the detention of young people for wearing beards while shaving moustaches. According to witnesses, law enforcers detained young men in the streets and forced them out of buses and route taxis.

According to Oleg Orlov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", this is not the first time when such events, called preventive measures in Chechnya, are being carried out; however, detainees do not appeal to human rights defenders for help.

Oleg Orlov notes that in Chechnya, it is impossible to openly profess "non-traditional concept of Islam", since the Chechen authorities have repeatedly stated that Wahhabis should be eliminated without trial.

Tatiana Lokshina associates the situation with a "hunting for Wahhabis being carried out in Chechnya."

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