Three residents of Chechnya repent for witchcraft

In the Urus-Martan District of Chechnya, two women and a man were detained and accused by the authorities of engaging in witchcraft (devilry). On September 21, a report on this topic was shown in the news programme of the ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company) "Grozny", and posted on YouTube video hosting.

According to the authors of the video, whose heroes speak mostly Chechen language, one of the detainees, Zina Chakaeva, had been engaged in "witchcraft" for more than 30 years.

Chakaeva confessed that she "fed jinns." For this, as she said, it was necessary to put some food on the table, and leave the room; "on the next day everything turned out to be eaten."

Adam Elzhurkaev, a theologian and the chief physician of the Islamic Medicine Centre in Grozny, has stated that the woman is a "shaitan," the "Kavkaz.Realii" wrote on September 22.

The video claims that another detainee, Tagir Mutaev, has a "long-term contract with jinns." The man has repented and promised "not to do this" any longer. The third detainee, Mai Zilbukharova, said that she had advised her client to wash the "evil eye" off herself with the water, in which the chicken stabbed by her was boiled up.

Mr Elzhurkaev has accused the detainees of "having sold their body and soul to the devil."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that earlier in September, Chechen police detained a local resident, Sekinat Ibragimova, accusing her of rendering magical services. The detainee, who, according to law enforcers had been practicing this since 2013, repented of her deeds on the air of the "Grozny" ChGTRK.

Let us recall here that in Chechnya, persecutions of sorcerers and psychics were launched in 2013, when, amid the fight against magicians and sorcerers announced by the head of Chechnya, dozens of people were detained, and some disappeared.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 23, 2019 at 03:40 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.