Residents of Chechnya describe control mechanism over attendance of FC "Akhmat" matches

Securities of the "Akhmat" Arena stadium allowed those, who had been forced to come to the football match of the Football Club (FC) "Akhmat" (Grozny) versus the "Orenburg" on August 5, to leave before the start of the match, employees of budget-funded organizations told after the match. Any complaints to authorities threaten residents of Chechnya with problems, Rizvan Ibragimov, a writer, and Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, told the "Caucasian Knot".

Chechen state servants told that they were forced to attend the match on August 5. Failure to attend is a threat of being fired, said a local named Sultan.

Another resident of Grozny named Vakha has added that attendance of matches, pro-government rallies and other coercive events is equated to the servants' official duties.

However, state employees have noted that the stadium's securities did not prevent them from leaving the place before the start of the match with the "Orenburg" FC.

Chechnya is making use of the unwritten system of coercing people to attend matches of the "Akhmat" FC, Rizvan Ibragimov, a writer, has confirmed. "My family members and acquaintances were victims of such coercion," he has added.

Employees of all the budget-funded organizations, including schools, hospitals and courts, are obliged to attend football matches held in Chechnya, said Ruslan Kutaev, an activist. "People are afraid that because of their complaints they may be kicked out of work, or maybe punished even more severely," he said.