Chechen MIA: human rights activists were not detained but brought to Shali OVD for check

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya refutes the fact of detention of Russian human rights activists. As reported by the press service of the Ministry, the Russian human rights defenders were not detained, but just brought to the Shali District OVD (Interior Division) for a check.

Earlier, employees of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" who work in Grozny told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that three Russian human rights activists, members of the "Public Commission for Chechnya" founded in the end of last year - Vladislav Sadykov, Dmitri Egoshin and Roman Veretennikov - were detained on February 7 by power agents in the foothill Shali District of Chechnya. The activists of Russian NGOs were released today after spending 15 hours in the police station.

Under the MIA's version, an application had arrived to the local police station from a woman living in Shali saying three unidentified persons came to her house and asked to write a slanderous complaint against a local official. This version was reported by the "Echo Moskvy" Radio.

With the aim to check this application, the three persons in question were brought to the OVD. After a check and an interview they were set free, as the MIA's press service told the "Rosbalt".

Meanwhile, according to Alexander Cherkasov, a member of the Board of the HRC "Memorial", neither detention nor release of the human rights activists were duly motivated and documented.

In the version of the statement of the press service of the Inter-Regional Committee Against Tortures, which arrived to the editorial board of the "Caucasian Knot", the human rights activists were detained during their meeting with some anonymous local who promised to give them some valuable data about one of the kidnapped residents of the Shali District.

The leader of local human rights NGO told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, that the "operation" against human rights activists was conducted personally by Hero of Russia Magomed (Timur) Daudov, head of the militia of the Shali District, also known in the republic under nickname "Lord" and as a former leader of the Wahhabite Jama'at of Geldagen village. In Chechnya he is considered to be one of the closest power commanders to President Ramzan Kadyrov.

"Vladislav Sadykov, Dmitri Egoshin and Roman Veretennikov were set free from the OVD building of the Shali District today after 10 in the morning. For the whole night they were kept in different rooms of the district police unit and subject to interrogations. At release they were offered to sign receipts that they have no claims to militiamen. Besides, an audio-video recording device was illegally confiscated from their service car," said the source.

He added that all the human rights activists were searched.