Human rights activists have confirmed the practice of sending Chechen residents to the SVO for minor violations.

Chechnya residents are being forcibly sent to Ukraine as punishment for alcohol and drug use, and minor offenses, human rights activists confirmed information from businessman Aslanbek Akhmetkhanov.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on October 7, a fragment of a video broadcast was published in which businessman Aslanbek Akhmetkhanov criticized the practice of sending Chechen residents who have consumed alcohol and drugs to military operations. "As far as I know, they are sent to Ukraine for drinking or smoking marijuana. This is their punishment," he stated, expressing the opinion that only professional soldiers should participate in military operations.

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The business of Aslanbek Akhmetkhanov, who disappeared in early April after being humiliated and threatened by Kadyrov and was found in his home village at the end, was opaque and dubious. The disgraced businessman's complicated affairs and schemes are described in a report by the "Caucasian Knot."

Akhmetkhanov's information was commented on to the "Caucasian Knot" by the chair of the "Civil Assistance" committee (an organization included in the register of foreign agents) Svetlana Gannushkina (included in the register of foreign agents), political scientist Ruslan Kutayev and a human rights activist familiar with the situation in Chechnya, but who asked not to publish his name.

Currently, "everyone in a row" is being sent to the front lines, and sending Chechen residents there as punishment is "highly likely," noted Svetlana Gannushkina.

"This seems very "It's probable, but I don't know of any specific cases... People who committed murder are sent away, let alone those guilty of drunkenness," the human rights activist said.

This is how they gather these people together.

21:40 06.02.2021

Social media users criticized Vismuradov's threats to those who drink alcohol

If a Chechen resident is caught drunk by security forces, he will be arrested and face "additional punishment," threatened Deputy Prime Minister Abuzayd Vismuradov. Violators can only be punished according to the law, Instagram users pointed out, describing the threats as "outrageous."

In turn, Ruslan Kutayev confirmed the information about Chechen residents being sent to the SVO as punishment. "When they send a group of people to [a military operation], they assemble it from these minor offenders, who haven't even committed administrative violations. Even if they drove a car through a yellow light. And that's how they gather these people together," he said.

Kutayev doubted that it would be possible to find data on the number of administrative or disciplinary violators sent to the combat zone. "I haven't seen anyone with such figures," he added.

The reasons for coercion vary, from alcohol and drug use to fabricated criminal cases.

A human rights activist familiar with the realities of Chechnya confirmed that Aslanbek Akhmetkhanov "said nothing new." "I can only speak about the deployment of civilians to Ukraine. A large percentage of these contracts are forced. They use various reasons for this coercion, from alcohol and drug use to fabricated criminal cases. They also force people returning from European countries to visit their families to sign contracts. And recently, for any other reasons that security forces invent on the ground," he explained.

As a reminder, in May, a Chechen opposition Telegram channel reported on six kidnapped residents of the republic who, under pressure, agreed to go to Ukraine. According to the channel, after one of them escaped, security forces captured two of his relatives. The kidnapping of relatives of those who fled deployment to Ukraine is consistent with the practice of coercing military contracts and punishing the relatives of those found guilty, human rights activists noted.

It should be noted that security forces in Chechnya monitor social media, identifying traffic violators who may face not only public censure or repentance, but also deployment to a military operation zone.

At the same time, Chechen authorities regularly report sending groups of fighters to the military operation zone in Ukraine. 60,344 fighters have been sent from Chechnya to participate in the military operation in Ukraine, including 22,064 volunteers. Of these, 13,000 are currently in the combat zone, Ramzan Kadyrov reported on July 5.

The total number of security forces sent from Chechnya does not include those who have withdrawn from the combat zone due to barracks, leave, or rotation. Since November 2022, Kadyrov has accompanied reports of the deployment of the next group with calls for people to contact the Grozny mayor's office and sign up as volunteers. He also regularly emphasizes that the flow of volunteers is not decreasing and there are no problems recruiting them. He also regularly reports that many volunteers are residents of other regions of Russia.

On January 14, volunteers who arrived in Chechnya to sign military contracts complained that they were being held captive for weeks so they could be sent to the war zone in place of local residents who had paid their way out of service. According to human rights activists, forced contract signing is common practice in Chechnya, and security forces may create an "exchange fund" from volunteers arriving from other regions who will sign contracts in place of local residents.