Kadyrov threatens to dismiss officials for quarantine violations

Amid the growth of the number of coronavirus cases in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov has prohibited residents from leaving their homes on April 18 and 19. The state servants, who break the ban will be dismissed, he has warned.

As of April 17, 175 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Chechnya; 19 patients have recovered; five died.

Because of the threat of coronavirus spread, residents of Chechnya are forbidden to leave their homes on April 18 and 19, the head of Chechnya said at the April 17 sitting of the operative headquarters; the report about the sitting was shown in the evening news programme of the "Grozny" ChGTRK (Chechen State TV and Radio Company), the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, [then] Sunday. The operative headquarters recommends us, and I instruct: except for doctors, employees of public utilities, emergency services, road workers and those who had special permits of the operative headquarters, no one [will leave] home," said Kadyrov, including TV workers into the list as well.

He asked the remaining residents of Chechnya to stay at home, and threatened officials who violate the ban with dismissal, as well as violators' relatives.

Israil, an employee of one of local NGOs, expressed doubt that the officials who violate the ban would indeed be dismissed. "It's just a say for effect. For officials and 'his people' he has one rule, while for others, rules are different," Israil has explained his assumption.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 18, 2020 at 10:29 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.