Kadyrov people oppose gossips about Gezmakhmaev to data on extrajudicial executions

Chechen authorities have launched an information campaign against Suleiman Gezmakhmaev, since they have no real grounds to initiate a criminal case against him and cannot refute the information about extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 24, Suleiman Gezmakhmaev's uncle said on air of the "Grozny" TV Channel that his nephew had used psychotropic substances and fled Russia, owing large sums of money to people. On the same day, new records were released with Gezmakhmaev's relatives and acquaintances, in which they expressed claims against the former law enforcer. These performances have all been staged, Instagram users have suggested.

Chechen authorities are waging a campaign to slander Gezmakhmaev, said Igor Kalyapin, the head of the "Committee against Torture" (CaT).

Oleg Orlov, a board member of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", is also confident that the information campaign of Chechen authorities against Gezmakhmaev indicates the absence of real grounds for initiating a criminal case against him. Mr Orlov does not rule out that in the near future "victims" of Gezmakhmaev's actions will appear.

Galina Tarasova, a lawyer for the "Hot Spots" programme of the HRC "Memorial", said that the statement of some Chechen resident that Gezmakhmaev had taken a car from him and still has not returned 130,000 roubles is not a ground for criminal prosecution.

Dmitry Muratov, the editor-in-chief of the "Novaya Gazeta", has added that the editorial office plans to file a lawsuit after the "unacceptable attacks" of Chechen leadership against journalists, but only if Kadyrov does it first.