Public talk on drug addiction in Chechnya raises collective responsibility problem

The participants of a prophylactic talk with detainees for drug use and distribution, which was shown on TV, did not come there voluntarily, residents of Chechnya have informed. They also recalled the principle of collective responsibility in force in the republic.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in October 2017, mass detentions in Chechnya of the persons suspected of using narcotic and psychotropic substances became known. In October 2016, Ramzan Kadyrov announced eviction of drug dealers and their families from Chechnya; and the "Novaya Gazeta" distributed a fragment of the audio record of Kadyrov's speech when he, according to the newspaper, threatened to shoot drug addicts dead.

On January 30, the "Grozny" TV Channel showed a news report about a prophylactic talk held at the local branch of the Drug Control Authority, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

According to the authors of the report, more than a hundred people were invited to the talk; their parents and close relatives also came.

The participation in the talk was compulsory; it was impossible to reject the invitation, relatives and friends of those present at the talk told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"These young guys, along with their relatives, were 'invited' to the prophylactic talk, but it was impossible to refuse, the appearance was mandatory. They talked about the drug hazards, that they are prohibited by Islam, that the republic's leadership takes measures to prevent such crimes and creates all the conditions so that our young people could successfully grow, study and go in for sports. I'm a categorical opponent of drugs and everything else, but I'm also against such 'educative events'. Why should they gather elderly people, mothers of these guys and expose them to the public? If a person is guilty, punish him/her according to the law, but don't make it a show," said Umar, a local resident.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 1, 2019 at 02:38 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.