Exhumation in Gudermes becomes example of Chechen authorities' reaction to public outcry

The authorities decided to exhume the body of a Gudermes woman because of the public outcry, believe human rights defenders interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Prosecutor of Chechnya initiated an inquiry into reports about the murder of a wife by a Gudermes resident. On June 20, investigators exhumed the body of the young woman.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, suggests that the exhumation was conducted as a result of the public outcry. Meanwhile, Ruslan Kutaev believes that the authorities are not interested in conducting an unbiased investigation. "The husband of the deceased woman works at the law enforcement bodies. Therefore, the state-run media started to cover the story to make it beneficial to the authorities. I believe that no one will know about the real causes of the woman's death," Ruslan Kutaev suggests.

Svetlana Gannushkina, the chair of the "Civic Assistance Committee", agrees that the public outcry affected the actions of the authorities. "The fact that they started to investigate the case is the result of the strong public outcry and publications in the media. Ordinary people had no doubt that the woman was murdered, and their reaction forced the republic's authorities to act," the human rights defender told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Svetlana Gannushkina does not rule out that there will be an unbiased investigation into the case. "This is not just a murder. This is a brutal, terrible murder. It seems to me that the authorities will want to resolve the crime and inform the public about the work done," the human rights defender suggested.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 23, 2020 at 06:37 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.