11:28, 6 October 2020

Rights defenders treat complaints to PO about smartphone checks as useless

Grozny. Photo: Alexxx1979, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53866567

Residents of Chechnya continue complaining about checks of their smartphones by law enforcers, the authors of the 1Adat Telegram Channel and blogger, Tumso Abdurakhmanov, have reported. Complaints about law enforcers' illegal actions sent to the Prosecutor's Office (PO) can be fraught with repressions, human rights defenders, Dmitry Piskunov and Svetlana Gannushkina, believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that residents of Chechnya suggested that law enforcers were interested in whether smartphone owners were commented on the messages of authorities' critics in social networks. Law enforcers want to intimidate the Chechens, who are increasingly becoming aware of the inaction of Russian laws in their republic, social media users believe.

As of October 5, mass checks of residents' smartphones are still going on in Chechnya, an author of the 1Adat Telegram Channel told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

When a resident of Chechnya complains about law enforcers' illegal actions (smartphone checks) to the PO, the latter won't investigate anything, Dmitry Piskunov, a lawyer of the Committee against Torture (CaT), is sure. He does not rule out that in Chechnya, an appeal to the PO on such an issue is fraught with consequences.

Earlier, the 1Adat Movement counted 53 kidnapped persons in Chechnya since the beginning of September, of whom at least one has been killed. These data need confirmation, but do not look overstated, Mr Piskunov said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 6, 2020 at 01:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: CK correspondent