Rights defenders treat Daudov's threat to seize cars in Chechnya as lawlessness

The law forbids to seize a car or take it to car impound for the absence of medical mask on the driver or a passenger, lawyers and human rights defenders have commented on the threats voiced out by Magomed Daudov, the Speaker of the Chechen Parliament.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 19, the Speaker demanded to seize cars from drivers who fail to wear protective masks.

A car seizure for the absence of a mask is contrary to the Russian legislation, said Alexander Peredruk, a lawyer and a senior partner of the human rights project "Apology of Protest", adding that the official calling to use such measure can theoretically be prosecuted under the article on abuse of office.

However, even if they will really take cars away, Chechen officials will not incur any punishment for this, said Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations. "The question immediately arises as under what law authorities are entitled to take away cars for absence of masks. This is lawlessness; but no officials will be punished for that. It's another demonstration of their power by Chechen authorities," Mr Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, the threats of car seizures are quite real. "If suddenly such an order is issued, policemen will immediately start seizing cars to show their bosses how well they work," Ruslan Kutaev has concluded.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 21, 2020 at 08:36 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.