22:37, 16 April 2025

After kidnapping in Chechnya, NIYSO activist’s relative remains with law enforcers

A road in Chechnya. Screenshot of a video posted on the Vezde Sami / Puteshestviya (Around the World by Ourselves / Trips) YouTube channel

Chechen law enforcers have not released the nephew of Zelimkhan Mustafinov, one of the authors of the oppositional Telegram channel NIYSO; the nephew’s whereabouts after kidnapping are unknown. All the relatives of Said-Ali Abubakirov have been expelled from Chechnya; they have left Northern Caucasus.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that at least six relatives of those who collaborated with the NIYSO Telegram channel have been detained in Chechnya. This happened amid Ramzan Kadyrov's threats addressed to those involved in the attack on law enforcers in Achkhoi-Martan; he named four channel employees among them. On April 11, law enforcers brought the employees’ kidnapped relatives to the mosque in the village of Gikalo and performed a "public curse ritual." After that, all their property was confiscated; and the families were evicted from Chechnya.

"As far as I know, relatives moved wherever they could. They were taken to Ingushetia, where they were released. Some went further around Russia; and some of them, who had documents, went abroad," said Said-Ali Abubekirov, one of the channel authors.

According to his story, the fate of Zelimkhan Mustafinov's nephew, who was put on the wanted list in Novosibirsk on the day of the incident in Achkhoi-Martan, April 7, remains unknown.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on April 15, 2025 at 10:51 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: СK correspondent