Blogger Malizaev's video about kidnapping attempt provokes scepticism in Chechnya

Blogger Minkail Malizaev, who lives in Germany and who criticizes the authorities of Chechnya, has reported that unidentified persons attempted to kidnap him. The blogger's version raised doubts among some Internet users and residents of Chechnya. Sceptics noted that the kidnappers suspiciously easily abandoned their plans.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that blogger Minkail Malizaev, living in Berlin, stated that for many years he criticized the policy of the Chechen authorities and that his relatives were subjected to pressure for his activities.

On April 8, Minkail Malizaev published on his YouTube channel a video from the place where, according to him, at about 11:00 p.m. on March 27, people in masks attempted to kidnap him. On the video, the blogger showed a parking lot between a store and a petrol station. According to Minkail Malizaev, the kidnappers abandoned their plan after he had entered the lighted parking lot.

As of 2:20 p.m. Moscow time, the video with Minkail Malizaev gained more than 98,500 views, and 577 comments were left under it. Authors of some comments suggested that there was no real threat to the blogger during the incident.

"Do you really think that if they were people from secret services or Kadyrov's fighters, they would fail [to take away] [Minkail Malizaev]," Adam Ibragimov wrote, in particular. "Most likely, they wanted to frighten him," Strannik Isa suggested in response.

The Minkail Malizaev's video message about the kidnapping attempt also raised doubts among some residents of Chechnya. "It turned out that several people attacked him, but he jumped out onto the lighted place, and they calmly left after that," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Khasan, a member of a Chechen NGO.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 9, 2019 at 02:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.