Kidnapping of Yandare resident results from conflict between two village families
Members of the family, to which the man kidnapped in the village of Yandare belongs, abused a guy from another family and extorted money from him. In Ingushetia, people often not address the law enforcement bodies to resolve similar problems, and that is why the relationship between the two families reached the point of kidnapping.
On May 10, a 28-year-old man from Yandare was kidnapped and beaten by residents of the same village. “All those who took part in the incident were members of the E. family: they are all close relatives. The faces of some of the attackers were covered with balaclavas, but the one who was detained in Magas and who is in custody is an E. family’s cousin. And he appeared on Ordzhonikidze Street just at the moment when his relatives were pushing the guy, who was desperately resisting, into a car. The man rushed to help his relatives, which was recorded by a surveillance camera,” a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent was told on May 25 by Alikhan, a resident of the Yandare village.
According to the Alikhan’s version, the kidnapping took place during daylight hours. “Cars were driving by, there were customers in the store, but no one rushed to help the guy,” stated Alikhan. He referred to the words of his neighbour, pensioner Idris, who witnessed the incident.
Having provoked the guy to do some action, the opposite party began to blackmail him and extort money from him
According to the information from the witness, Yandare villagers knew that a group of young people from the K. family, whose leader was the kidnapped man, had chosen a guy from the E. family as an object of ridicule. “He was a calm and well-read young man, and he worked as a male nurse. People like him are usually called ‘nerds.’ No one imagined that seemingly harmless ridicule could develop into something rude, degrading to human dignity. Having provoked the guy to do some action, they began to blackmail him and extorted money. When he refused to bring money to them, they resorted to sophisticated bullying <...> The last amount voiced by the extorters from the K. family reached half a million. The E. family learned about that and about the bullying their man had been subjected to. That’s why they decided to take such step as kidnapping. That’s why none of the Yandare villagers stood up for K. By that time the news with its shocking details became well-known to many villagers,” Alikhan stated.
The villager also noted that the kidnapped man was being disingenuous when he claimed that “the kidnappers did not make any demands on him.” “He knew perfectly well why he was being forced into their car and what demands would be made on him and for what of his actions,” Alikhan believes.
Human rights defender discusses specifics of resolving conflict situations in Ingushetia
Human rights defender Magomed Mutsolgov notes that kidnapping a person is a particularly grave crime, especially since this act was committed by a group of armed people by prior agreement. “Most likely, investigators have already conducted an examination, and another article will be included in the charges: causing harm to a person’s health,” Magomed Mutsolgov told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
As for the reaction of the people to the incident, Magomed Mutsolgov has suggested that most people did not try to save the kidnapped guy because they believed that law enforcers were carrying out the detention. “Especially since the people were wearing masks and carrying firearms. Therefore, in this case, no one intervened in the incident,” the human rights defender noted.
Magomed Mutsolgov has also commented on the kidnappers’ claims regarding the actions of the kidnapped person. “As for the actions that the kidnappers claim the kidnapped person committed, including blackmail, extortion, and bullying, then I think this is of no importance to the investigation, since no one has filed any complaints to the police about the illegal actions of the K. family member. And since there are no complaints filed to the police, neither the Investigating Committee nor the police will consider this fact,” Magomed Mutsolgov believes.
Earlier, role of arbitrator was performed by activists of public diplomacy. However, recently, the public diplomacy’s influence in resolving conflicts has significantly weakened.
At the same time, Magomed Mutsolgov does not remember a case where a complaint against an offender was filed to the police. “Such actions on the part of victims are not welcomed in our society. Earlier, the role of an arbitrator was performed by activists of public diplomacy. However, recently, the public diplomacy’s influence in resolving conflicts has significantly weakened,” emphasized Magomed Mutsolgov.
Alikhan, a resident of the Yandare village, agrees with the human rights defender’s opinion that in Ingushetia, people do not file complaints to the police about their abusers. “On the other hand, if people had filed such complaints, then maybe Mustafa Katsiev, who was killed because of a plot of land, would still be alive. Ibragim Dzortov, whose guilt was that he and a girl from his village fell in love with each other and wanted to start a family, would still be alive. And if the brothers of the guy who was blackmailed by the kidnapped man had written a complaint to the police about blackmailing, then perhaps the trouble would not have come to their home. After all, no one knows how everything will turn out,” Alikhan reasons. The villager from Yandare believes that it is not too late for the affected man to file a complaint to the police about the bullying.
Lawyer Lyudmila Tolstonogova agrees with the opinion of the Yandare resident. She has emphasized that, by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Article 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, criminal proceedings are intended to protect the rights and legitimate interests of individuals and organizations that have suffered from crimes. “The mentioned provision is the main principle of criminal proceedings. The basis for institution of a criminal case is the availability of sufficient data that a crime has been committed, as a result of which a person has been harmed,” lawyer Lyudmila Tolstonogova explained.
According to the lawyer’s explanation, the law enforcement bodies are obliged to accept and verify within the limits of their competence a complaint about any crime committed or being plotted.
This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 26, 2025 at 05:45 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.