Rights defenders fear for life of Chechen blogger cursed by relatives

The disavowal of relatives from Said-Khusein Magomadov, who lives in Austria and criticizes Chechen authorities, is no guarantee for the safety of either the blogger's relatives or the blogger himself, experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Said-Khusein Magomadov's relatives had held a gathering, where they cursed him for his texts criticizing Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen authorities.

A public relatives' renunciation is "already something commonplace and expected in such stories," the Chechen blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In his opinion, the procedure of public renunciations does not guarantee the safety of the relatives themselves. "It is rather a formality. But [...] relatives are trying to safeguard themselves in this way," Abdurakhmanov has noted, adding that if Said-Khusein Magomadov had remotely insulted Ramzan Kadyrov, then he could be in danger. "I'm not sure, but, in my opinion, he made offensive statements about Kadyrov; and this is already a reason to fear for his life," the blogger has concluded.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the "Civil Assistance" Committee, agrees that Magomadov is in danger. According to her version, relatives are forced to publicly renounce, hoping to reduce the risks for themselves. "Apparently, [public renunciation by relatives] reduces the risks. It is obvious that this is another demonstration of Ramzan Kadyrov's full power and immunity. However, such people's humiliation is no guarantee of his (Magomadov's) safety," Ms Gannushkina told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2020 at 10:10 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.