Police do not confirm abduction of Maskhadov's relatives

Chechen law enforcement agencies have not confirmed reports that close relatives of Aslan Maskadov, president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, were taken hostages. "It's just another canard spread by separatists to discredit present Chechen authorities. If they know so well when Maskhadov's relatives were taken hostages and where they were conveyed, why don't they mention their number, their names, and details of how it happened?" a Chechen police officer said to the Caucasian Knot correspondent. "We have no information about the alleged hostage-taking of Maskhadov's relatives. If people are abducted, their relatives put in applications about it. Then we institute criminal proceedings and take all necessary actions. We've received no applications from Maskhadov's relatives. As far as I know, many of them live in the Nadterechny district of Chechnya, and there's no claims against them," the officer said.