Anzorov's funeral reveals double standards of Chechen leadership

Ramzan Kadyrov has allowed to bury Abdulak Anzorov, the killer of the French teacher, into the ancestral cemetery in Chechnya, but at the same time refuses to give out bodies of alleged terrorists to their relatives, Oleg Orlov, a human rights defender, has stated. The actions of the Chechen authorities can be seen as a direct expression of support for the murder of the French teacher, Dmitry Piskunov, a human rights activist, believes.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Abdulak (Abdulla) Anzorov, a native of Chechnya, who beheaded Samuel Paty, a teacher of history and geography in a Paris surburb, and then was shot dead at detention, was buried in the village of Shalazhi, Urus-Martan District.

According to Oleg Orlov, a board member of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", Ramzan Kadyrov is taking a risk by allowing the burial of Abdulak Anzorov into the ancestral cemetery in the village of Shalazhi.

"On the one hand, the leadership of the Chechen Republic refuses to give out the bodies of alleged members of illegal armed formation (IAFs) to their relatives for burial; but, on the other hand, they allow them to bury a man in the Chechen village of Shalazhi who not only killed, but also beheaded the French school teacher. These are, of course, double standards," Mr Orlov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Dmitry Piskunov, the head of the North-Caucasian branch of the Committee against Torture (CaT), believes that an extremely contradictory situation has developed in Chechnya.

"Despite the fact that Abdulak Anzorov committed a terror act, the leadership of the Chechen Republic has clearly supported the burial. The Chechen leadership has given carte blanche for this event. In fact, this can be seen as a direct support for the crime that was committed in France," Dmitry Piskunov has expressed his viewpoint.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 8, 2020 at 01:18 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.