Reburial of Chechen resident highlights problem of disappeared persons

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Sharip Ismailov, who disappeared in January 1995, his relatives reported. Family members of the people disappeared during the military campaigns in Chechnya still hope to find their relatives.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since the spring of 2013, Chechnya issues genetic passports to relatives of the people who disappeared or were kidnapped during the hostilities. By August 2017, according to the Chechen Ministry of National Policy, Information, and Press, more than 900 residents of Chechnya got such passports.

The funeral of Sharip Ismailov was held on March 5. According to his relatives, hundreds of people visited the commemoration service.

"There are thousands of tragedies like our in the republic, and people understand our condition. We feel bitterness from loss and still we feel satisfaction from the fact that at least one of the two was found and buried," noted one of the relatives of the family.

Relatives and friends of the disappeared and kidnapped people noted that the authorities should deal with the problem. "Give people the answer to what happened to the thousands of kidnapped and disappeared people. Once a year, one or two persons are found, and this is considered a great achievement," Zara, a resident of Grozny, expressed her indignation.

There is no exact data on the number of Chechen residents who was kidnapped or disappeared during the military campaigns. "Our database includes 3016 people," reported the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) for Chechnya.