Kadyrov's statement on militants' penetration into Russia raised questions to special services

The words of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, that the alleged militants, who were killed during the counterterrorist operation (CTO) conducted in Grozny on October 13, had entered Russia from abroad, have raised questions about the work of special services, the experts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 13, in the Oktiabrsky District of Grozny, during a CTO, law enforcers killed four alleged militants. According to law enforcers' data, voiced out by Ramzan Kadyrov, the alleged militants arrived from abroad and had planned to commit a series of terror acts in Chechnya.

The CTOs accompanied by killing alleged members of the armed underground in Chechnya, same as in any other region of Russia, where they are often conducted even at a large scale, may indicate an illusory stability in the security sphere and the absence of full control, which is often reported by the heads of various special services and heads of regions, Zaurbek Sadakhanov, a lawyer of the Moscow Bar Association, asserts.

The fact that the participants of the armed clash with law enforcers had penetrated into Russia from abroad while being on the federal wanted list, evidences, according to the lawyer, that "law enforcement bodies are preoccupied with their more important personal interests than the protection of public order in the Russian Federation."

In the opinion of Oleg Orlov, the chairman of the board of the Human Rights Centre "Memorial", Kadyrov's statement that the alleged militants killed in the CTO could have returned from Syria is an unconditional challenge to special services.

"If people, who are on the federal wanted list, and who are fighting in Syria, have returned to Russia, this is a very interesting fact, which means that there is a channel through which militants can return. Until now, this hasn't been the case. I doubt that it really is. However, if so, then it says a lot. Kadyrov's words, if they are true, show the poor work of our special services," Mr Orlov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 14, 2020 at 02:34 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.