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Protest rally in Grozny against transfer of Chechen inmates to Russian jails

By Ruslan Isayev

GROZNY, Chechnya - Relatives of men who are inmates of Chechen and Russian jails staged a rally in Grozny this morning against the transfer of Chechen inmates to prisons in the Russian regions.

The protest, which took place in front of the local government building, was attended by about 80 women. The protesters held placards demanding the return of brothers, sons and husbands who have already been transferred to Russian prisons, and according to the protesters, abused by the camp supervisors and other prisoners.

"My son is in a penal colony in Arkhangelsk oblast. There he was severely beaten simply because he prays regularly and is a Chechen," says Sovdat, mother of one of the imprisoned men. "I’m an old woman now, and I only have one son. If he is guilty, let him serve his sentence in Chechnya, and not in Russia – after all, the law says that he must serve his sentence in the place where he committed the crime," she considers.

For an hour after the start of the rally, the women protesters blocked the entrance to the government complex, but police officers guarding the building asked them to step aside in order to let officials go inside to their work. The women obeyed and moved aside, but continued the rally. They were all awaiting the arrival of President Ramzan Kadyrov, who was scheduled to come to work at that time. His recent statement about his effort to bring all Chechen prisoners in Chechnya has inspired hope in many of the relatives of men who are serving various prison terms in Russia.

President Kadyrov did not appear. Instead, the women were met outside the building by minister Khasan Taymaskhanov and senior Chechen security official Ismail Dadalayev, who persuaded them to disperse. A list was compiled of women who will discuss the problem with them in one of the meeting chambers of the government complex tomorrow.

(Translation by DM)

(D/T)

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