22:57, 11 September 2020

Human rights defenders urge law enforcers to find Movsar Umarov from Grozny

Law enforcers. Grozny. Photo: REUTERS/S.Dal

The police should find Movsar Umarov and check the legality of the actions of the law enforcers, who claim that he fled after his detention, declares the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that a mother of Movsar Umarov said he was detained for viewing the blog of Tumso Abdurakhmanov, well known for criticizing the authorities of Chechnya. The woman believes that her son fell victim to an extrajudicial killing.

On July 18, Movsar Umarov was detained straight at a Grozny restaurant where he worked. Eyewitnesses said that law enforcers refused to explain their interest in him and threatened the restaurant staff with physical violence for making the incident public.

It was not until August 7 when relatives were allowed visiting Movsar Umarov. A man who introduced himself as Djabrail said that Ramzan Kadyrov was aware of the Movsar Umarov's detention.

The recent time Movsar Umarov contacted his relatives was on August 11. The law enforcement bodies claimed his escape on August 18. However, they refused to put Movsar Umarov on the wanted list.

On September 7, Magomed Baituev, an adviser to the leader of Chechnya, declared that he was not involved in the situation with the fate of Movsar Umarov.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 11, 2020 at 03:03 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.