Ramzan Kadyrov promises money to families of killed journalists amid persecution of critics

The Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation made a decision to allocate 100,000 roubles to relatives of 22 journalists, who were killed during combat actions in Chechnya, announced the leader of the republic on the Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty. The Ramzan Kadyrov's statement was voiced amid the persecution of people who made public cases of human rights violations in Chechnya.

Tonight, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has announced on his Instagram page the decision to allocate 2.2 million roubles from the Akhmat Kadyrov Foundation to the families of journalists who were killed in Chechnya.

The money allocated to relatives of the deceased journalists is a one-time financial aid, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has been informed by an official from the Ministry of Nationalities, External Relations, Press, and Information of Chechnya.

It should be noted that amid public support by the authorities of the families of the deceased journalists in Chechnya, there is a practice of prosecuting people who make public human rights violations in the republic.

One of such cases was the criminal prosecution of Chechen journalist Zhalaudi Geriev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. In April 2016, Zhalaudi Geriev was kidnapped by armed men on his way to the airport. The law enforcers seized his backpack, and later, drugs were found in it. The journalist claimed that the drugs had been planted to him. However, in September 2016, he was found guilty of marijuana possession and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. On April 30, 2019, Zhalaudi Geriev was released after he had completely served his sentence.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 16, 2019 at 01:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.