Umarov explains appearance of law enforcers with pipes in Chechnya by masquerade

Residents of Chechnya warn their acquaintances about raids on quarantine violators who may face beating up with plastic pipes. Djambulat Umarov, a Chechen Minister has called the video with law enforcers armed with pipes a "joke."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 29, the "Novaya Gazeta" wrote that in Chechnya, law enforcers were armed with polypropylene pipes intended to punish violators of the quarantine regime.

On March 29, users of the WhatsApp in Chechnya spread at least two messages about the beatings by law enforcers of quarantine violators in the republic. They were beaten up with plastic pipes; and violators' cars were taken away from their owners, users of the messenger have claimed.

Chechen authorities are refuting the information about the beating of quarantine violators. Djambulat Umarov, the Chechen Minister for National Politics, Press and Information, claims that people in black uniforms with polypropylene pipes filmed in the videos are not law enforcers. According to his version, polypropylene pipes are inefficient for beating – "it's the same as beating someone with a balloon."

"Someone decided to have fun and joke. Some media have fallen for this bait," the "Uprising" Project quotes Minister Umarov as saying on is website.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 30, 2020 at 09:28 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.