Grozny resident reports hundreds of detainees after anti-drug raids

In Chechnya, anti-drug raids are being held "almost every day," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been told today by Musa, a member of a local NGO.

"A person can be brought to a police station even under a slight pretext. That's even enough if a detainee names another person or if they find someone's phone number in a detainee's mobile phone," Musa said.

A resident of Grozny, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he had been detained at a bus stop after a friend had asked him to pass "some pills" to their common acquaintance.

According to the source, he and about 200 other detainees were kept in a basement. "There were about 200 of us, maybe a little less. There was dirt everywhere, high humidity, and a terrible stench. Detainees are being tortured with electric current there, then taken from the basement to a large room, and there a mullah reads the Koran and talks about the dangers of drugs. And that can last for days, and for someone even for weeks," said the resident of Grozny.

He has noted that he himself spent about two weeks in custody.

A law enforcer denied information about torture of detainees. "Naturally, they will tell various terrible things just not to admit their guilt," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

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