Parents of Chechen MMA fighter captured in Belarus plead for his life in public appeal

The parents of mixed martial arts fighter Murad Amriev have filmed a public appeal pleading with Belarusian officials not to send their son back to Chechnya, where they say he’ll likely be killed “to settle a personal score.”

Before he came to Belarus, Amriev was detained on June 4 by border guards while entering Russia from Ukraine. Officials accused him of using false documents because his passport contained a typo. Amriev fled Chechnya in 2013, after members of the Chechen Interior Ministry allegedly tortured him for two days, demanding that he produce evidence against his older brother.

On June 6, Amriev fled the state prosecutors’ building in Bryansk, when Chechen security forces arrived and tried to take him into custody, claiming to have a warrant for his arrest. “He ran out of the building, jumped into his friend’s Lada Priora, and they drove off,” a representative of the Committee Against Torture told the media at the time.

On June 8, Amriev was detained in Belarus. That same day, Belarusian officials informed the media that they plan to extradite Amriev back to Russia.

Text of the public appeal by Murad Amriev’s parents

We, the parents of Murad Amriev, appeal to you with a request: Help us prevent the transfer of our son to the Chechen Republic, where his life would be in danger. In the past, our son was subjected to violence. He was kidnapped. And we weren't able to help him.

Please help us stop his transfer. He isn't guilty of anything. He broke no law. They just want to settle a personal score with him.