Paris: local Chechens urge Frenchmen not to treat them as terrorists (+video)

On June 3, about 500 participants of the action in France condemned the actions of the Chechen-born Khamzat Azimov, who attacked passers-by in Paris, and called on the French media to stop their anti-Chechen campaign.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 12, in Paris, a young man attacked passers-by with a knife, killing one and injuring four others. The attacker, who was shot dead by policemen, was identified as Khamzat Azimov, a Chechen native, while the responsibility for the attack was claimed by the "Islamic State" (IS), recognized as a terrorist organization and banned by the court in Russia.

On June 3, in central Paris, a rally was held of the Chechen Diaspora against terrorism. According to the organizers from the "Bart-Marcho", about 500 people from thirteen cities of France came to the rally, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"This is the largest rally since 2003," said Mairbek Vachagaev, a historian and journalist living in France, who attended the rally.

"We gathered here to prevent labelling all the Chechens as 'terrorists'. When we win sports competitions, they say 'Russians' about us, but as soon as there are some problems, they call us 'Chechens' at once. There's a black sheep in every family; but we gathered here to declare that we are not terrorists," said one of the protesters.

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