A Chechen woman reporting kidnapping of a child retracts her statement in public

A woman from Chechnya, who wrote in WhatsApp about an attempted kidnapping of a child in a street, explained her actions by "emotions." The authorities treated a report on the kidnapping as rumors, while local residents took the authorities' statement with disbelief.

"I felt panic when I heard about a message reporting there was an attempt to kidnap a child in the village of Vinogradnoe. I have two little daughters ... Then there were other reports that children were subject to kidnapping in Northern Caucasus," local woman Aset told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has reported that in recent years, there had been no attempts to kidnap children.

"I was full of emotions at that moment, and maybe that made me warn my parents in such a way," the author of the WhatsApp message reported on the air of the "Grozny" TV Channel on August 5.

"There are no kidnappings in Chechnya. This is a quiet place," stated Idris Tuntaev, the deputy chief for the department of internal affairs in the Grozny District. The police officer called on citizens not to disseminate "unsubstantiated rumors" in messengers.

WhatsApp "has long been a platform for gossip," and the consequences of unverified information disseminated through instant messengers mean "an extra panic, for which one will have to answer to the people and the law," explained authors of the TV story.

"That happens to everyone who voices something unpleasant for our authorities. It is not for the first time when people are forced to give up their statements in public," said Milana, a resident of Chechnya.

Let us remind you that residents of Chechnya have repeatedly refused in public their statements and complaints against the authorities.