Rights defenders state Kadyrov's stronger influence on Chechen Diasporas

In 2016, the influence of the Chechen leadership on Diaspora members in 2016 grew stronger due to the use of the collective responsibility method, rights defenders told the "Caucasian Knot". According to their version, refugees never forget that their relatives are still in Chechnya and may be exposed to pressure.

"Attempts to strengthen the influence on Diasporas intensified last year," said Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the head of the project for Russia and Northern Caucasus of the International Crisis Group (ICG). "At the same time, Chechens abroad became more active: since January l, 2016, they kept holding rallies against public humiliation and in memory of the deportation."

In the opinion of Ms Sokiryanskaya, now "most freely-minded Chechens are outside Russia; and they are mostly extremely critical towards the current regime in Grozny."

"But Chechens have large families; they all have relatives in Chechnya, where Kadyrov makes use of the collective responsibility method to silence the voice of Diasporas," she has stressed.

As reported by Tatiana Lokshina, the programme director for Russia of the Human Rights Watch (HRW), she knows cases, when refugees' relatives "got under pressure, and refugees had to migrate back."

"What happens with refugees is part of Ramzan Kadyrov's policy. This is one of the extra-legal features of his regime," Ms Lokshina told the "Caucasian Knot".

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