For two years, investigators can't solve disappearance of Chechen singer Bakaev

Two years have passed since the disappearance in Grozny of the 25-year-old singer Zelimkhan Bakaev. Investigators have no data about the fate of the missing singer; while residents of Chechnya are sure that Bakaev has long been dead.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in August 2017, Zelimkhan Bakaev arrived in Grozny to his sister's wedding ceremony, and then disappeared.

On August 8, 2019, an employee of the Department for the Chechen Republic of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that there was no information about Zelimkhan Bakaev two years after his disappearance.

In their turn, the locals interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent expressed the opinion that Bakaev was no longer alive.

"The worst thing that can be put forward against a man in Chechnya is the accusation of his non-traditional sexual orientation. It's a disgrace to both the family and the clan, which can be washed off with blood only... I fully admit that for some time they kept Zelimkhan in some jail. And then, they either killed him themselves, or forced one of his relatives to do it. Therefore, there's such silence around this case," said Fatima, a local woman.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 11, 2019 at 03:56 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.