All relatives of those killed in CTO in Grozny released from police

The last one out of the detained relatives of the young people killed in the counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted in Grozny was released from police on January 5; thus, all the relatives are back at large.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 17 Grozny saw several attacks on policemen. During the CTO that followed seven suspected militants were killed. Later, power agents began detaining relatives and friends of those killed.

Power agents explained the mass detentions of relatives by the intention to protect them from possible reprisals, a Grozny resident, whose nephew was among the killed militants, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"When I asked about the reasons for detention, one of policemen told me that it was done for our security. Then, there was a rally at the mosque 'Heart of Chechnya', and the families of perished policemen declared vendetta (blood feud) to us. After that, for some reason, the need to protect us somehow disappeared," the source said.

The head of one of the republic's NGOs has noted, in his turn, that at least two of those young men killed on December 17-18 in Grozny had been earlier detained by law enforcers.

"Istamul Mamaev and Ibragim Mazhaev, killed in the CTO, had been detained earlier, two years ago. Mamaev was detained for expressing the idea of jihad in Syria; Mamaev suffered mainly due to the fact that his elder brother had gone to fight in Syria. After the detention, they were tortured, beaten up and abused. Then, they were released," the head of the NGO told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on condition of anonymity.

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