Samashki villagers report pressure by law enforcers after incident

None of the residents of the Chechen village of Samashki, who were beaten up for quarantine violations, appeared in the video circulated by pro-government publics, showing refutations of the beatings. After the incident, officials came from Grozny to Samashki and pressed the participants of the video with apologies, said the villagers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a villager of Samashki, Achkhoi-Martan District, said that law enforcers had beaten the man who went out on the Eid al-Fitr holiday despite the quarantine regime; law enforcers also used force on his mother. After that, a video appeared in the Instagram public supporting local authorities, where locals apologized for spreading fakes about the conflict with law enforcers.

Among those who apologized in the video clips, there was no mother and her son, whose beatings was reported by the local resident, a Samashki villager named Asya has noted. Also, there were no other villagers who had suffered from law enforcers among the apologists. "These people, who suffered from law enforcers, still have bruises and abrasions on their bodies. Apparently, when the signs of beatings disappear, they will also be forced to take part in such videos," she said.

Everyone, who resisted law enforcers, was taken to some power agency in the Urus-Martan District, Asya said. "All the detainees returned home. All of them didn't participate in the national TV broadcast and didn't apologize. They're sitting at home and don't go anywhere," she has added.

Asya said that after the incident, officials arrived from Grozny in Samashki, after which a group of apologizers was created. "People are afraid, so they say what they are ordered to," she has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 29, 2020 at 04:59 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.