Kadyrov's threats alert journalists and bloggers

Ramzan Kadyrov is able to realize his threats against commentators and bloggers; and after his statements some journalists will resort to self-censorship, Milrad Fatullaev editor-in-chief of the "Derbent" News Agency, and Rasul Asad, a blogger, believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on the 20th anniversary of the Chechen militants' invasion into Dagestan, Ramzan Kadyrov drew a parallel between these events and the 19th century Caucasian War and accused Imam Shamil of repressions against Chechens for their unwillingness to confront Russia. On August 8, in Makhachkala, several dozen people came to the Avar Theatre to protest against Kadyrov's words about Imam Shamil. The action caused Kadyrov's discontent. People who continue writing "twaddle and nonsense" on the Internet should come to their senses so that not to initiate war against them, Ramzan Kadyrov said in his recent video message.

"If they go on writing further ... well, there are devils, and only a bullet can stop them. We've been long fighting devils; therefore don't be them," Kadyrov said in a video posted on August 9 in the page za_kra_albakov on the Instagram.

Kadyrov's threatening words about the people writing on the Internet will lead to self-censorship among a part of the journalistic and bloggers' community, Mr Fatullaev has stated.

Kadyrov is trying to put pressure not only on commentators in social networks, but also on bloggers who cover the dispute from independent standpoints, says Rasul Asad, the author of the "Ask Rasul" Telegram channel. "Given that Kadyrov has capacities to realize his threats, this cannot but affect the journalists who cover this topic," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 12, 2019 at 11:03 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.