NIYSO member reports expulsion of his relatives from Chechnya

The Chechen authorities have expelled the parents, brothers, sisters and stepmother of one of the administrators of the opposition Telegram channel NIYSO, Said-Ali Abubakirov.

“The relatives were expelled from the republic – they were taken to Ingushetia, dropped off and told to go wherever they wanted. Now everyone – brothers, sisters, father, mother, stepmother – have left Chechnya,” Abubakirov said.

Earlier, NIYSO representatives said that after publishing a post about the display of Eskarhan Khumashev’s body on a square in Chechnya, security forces kidnapped six of their relatives. Now it has become known that they were taken to Ingushetia, and their property was seized.

On April 7, an attack on a traffic police post took place in the Chechen city of Achkhoy-Martan. 17-year-old Eskarhan Khumashev, armed with a knife, attacked police officers, injuring them. One of the security officers died in hospital. Khumashev was shot dead at the scene.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that the attacker's actions were directed from abroad, in particular, from Ukraine, and some of the organizers are in Turkey. He demanded that the attacker's family be expelled from Chechnya and their property confiscated. Information was also spread online that Khumashev's body was put on public display near the administration of the Achkhoy-Martan district. Local residents, including schoolchildren, were forced to come to the rally so that they could publicly condemn the attack. A video from the scene was published by the opposition Telegram channel NIYSO.