Two suspected militants detained in Chechnya

Last weekend, two local residents were detained by employees of law enforcement bodies of the Chechen Republic as suspects of complicity in illegal armed formations.

One of the suspects was arrested in the Sunzha District and the other one - in the Vedeno District. Law enforcers assert that one of the detainees showed location of a hiding place with ordnance.

Meanwhile, it became known from a woman-resident of Assinovskaya village, the young man who had been arrested there on suspicion of complicity to militants was set free by militiamen. "In the morning on Saturday, militiamen detained Islam Khacharoev, 23, a relative of my husband. Nobody explained any reasons and the place where they would put him. Islam had never been a militant or their helper; until recently he worked at a construction site in Grozny," the woman told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"Later, relatives managed to find out that Islam was placed to the Sunzha ROVD (District Militia Department), but neither parents nor relatives were allowed to meet him. On the following day, he was brought to the village outskirt allegedly for some investigatory actions. Everybody now says that Islam was severely beaten. Late at night (on January 25), he was released, but without his passport and mobile phone. People say that he was beaten to confess that he was a militants' helper," said the woman.

At the end of last week, the MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs) of Chechnya reported about detention in the territory of the republic of three former helpers of illegal armed formations. In total, in recent days, about a dozen persons have been detained in the territory of the Chechen Republic on charges of being militants or their helpers.

According to Chechen law enforcers, in 2008, 327 former militants were detained, and 82 more persons surrendered and pled guilty in the territory of republic. Besides, as a result of special operations conducted in Chechnya 61 militants were killed, and five armed separatist groups were liquidated.