Residents of Chechnya report detentions of young people by power agents after militants' attack on Grozny

On December 9-11, Chechnya saw at least two cases of detention of young people by power agents, as reported by residents of the city of Argun and the dwelling settlement of Avtury of the Shali District of the republic. The Chechen MIA claimed that for the last few days there were no complaints from citizens about any kidnappings of their relatives.

A resident of Argun told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that December 11 law enforcers detained several young people and took then away to some unknown place.

"Apparently, the guys were detained because they had beards and shaved moustaches. Here, it is considered a major sign that the person is a Wahhabi," said the source.

According to locals, in the Shali District of Chechnya, on December 9, power agents kidnapped several young men and also took them away to some unknown place.

Local observers associate the detentions with the events in Grozny on December 4.

"In different villages they burn down houses of militants' relatives; and now it is reported that they began capturing young men who wear beards," said Aslan, an activist of one of the Chechen NGOs, adding that detainees' relatives prefer not to make incidents public.

The Imam of a mosque in Grozny named Umar said that young people "provoke power agents" by their appearance and other actions.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.