23:15, 25 January 2005

Destiny of abducted Maskhadov's relatives still unknown

The situation with the abduction of eight relatives of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov still remains unsettled. Chechen authorities and law enforcers deny their involvement in the happening, and Maskhadov's relatives (as well as many people in Chechnya) are convinced that the abduction was organized by officers of the Chechen presidential security service, which is under the common control of First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Government Ramzan Kadyrov.

"It's a secret for no one that Ramzan Kadyrov runs everything in the republic. All other functionaries try to agree with his actions and justify all of them," a Chechen political scientist said. "As for Aslan Maskhadov's relatives, I, as most of the Chechens, have no doubt that they're captured by Ramzan Kadyrov's charges. It's unknown whether they did it with the consent and approval of the federal authorities or the Chechen authorities took the initiative. It seems to me that it would have been impossible to take such an action without submitting it for approval to the Russian leadership."

Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent