11:11, 17 June 2019

Dagestani activist asks Putin to react to Kizlyar conflict

People's gathering in Kizlyar against installment of Chechen road signposts, June 11, 2019. Photo by Ilyas Kapiev for the Caucasian Knot

The visit of Chechen law enforcers to Kizlyar and Kadyrov's promise to "break fingers" to commentators are a threat to public safety in Dagestan; the federal authorities should interfere and ensure a competent investigation of the incident, Magomedrasul Guseinov, an activist, said in his appeal to President Putin and heads of law enforcement agencies.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at night on June 10, residents of Kizlyar demolished a road signpost reading "Shelkovskoy District" in the outskirt of the city. On June 11, Magomed Daudov, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, who arrived at the scene of the incident with a detachment of armed law enforcers, reprimanded the head of the Kizlyar District and treated the incident as "a mess." On June 11, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, commenting on the incident, called on residents of Chechnya and Dagestan "not to succumb to provocations," and promised to "break fingers and tear out tongues" of those, who write insulting comments.

On June 12, it became known about the demolition of two other signs installed on the border of Chechnya with the Tarumovka District of Dagestan. These signs were knocked down by a KamAZ concrete mixer driver, Magomed Daudov has stated and voiced out threats to the driver. "Either you come here and try to remove the sign again, or you, in your mixer, spinning in his drum, go home," Speaker Daudov has threatened.

The appeal by Magomedrasul Guseinov, a Khasavyurt resident, posted in his Facebook page on June 15, is addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Russian power agencies.

The author of the appeal, positioning himself as an "independent public rights defender," wrote that the actions of the Chechen leadership and law enforcers were threatening, and asked to take adequate measures in defence of constitutional rights and legitimate interests of citizens of the Russian Federation.

Guseinov also asked officials of law enforcement bodies, prosecutors and State Duma MPs to send a competent commission for investigating the June 11 incident.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 16, 2019 at 07:30 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.