The head of the Minnatz Chechnya Umarov demanded an apology from Novaya Gazeta

The Minister of Chechnya on National Policy, Foreign Relations, Press and Information Dzhambulat Umarov, in circulation to the chief editor of Novaya Gazeta, Dmitry Muratov, demanded an apology for the publication of materials on the persecution of homosexuals in the republic. He wrote about this on his Instagram.

The Chechen minister put forward three conditions for the termination of the "dangerous skirmish", which the authorities of the republic are conducting with the publication. “Firstly, you should apologize to the Chechen people for the disgusting nonsense that you distributed in the media, including social networks. Secondly, if such an apology follows, then we will convincingly ask for your colleagues, at least superficially, to get acquainted with the mental specificity of the region and refer to real (!) Sources that they work. Thirdly, finally stop hysteria about the hysteria Non -existent “threats”, so that, God forbid, those who are tired of incomparably more than us are not used by this, ”Umarov wrote (spelling and punctuation of the original are preserved).

He called the articles "vile provocation" against the Chechen people. “So far, Chechnya is led by Ramzan Kadyrov - the faithful and charismatic associate of V.V. Putin, you will not calm down,” the minister added.

At the same time, Umarov claims that Chechnya’s authorities consider violence against journalists unacceptable: "Do not worry, Chechens do not touch unarmed people, even if these are villains. We do not need scandals, squabbles, and even more groundless accusations of what we have nothing to do with."

On Thursday, "Novy" reported those who came from Chechnya at the address of journalists of open threats . As stated in the publication, on April 3, a meeting of authoritative religious and public figures was held in Chechnya, at which Adam Shahidov, adviser to the head of the republic on religious issues, publicly accused the journalists of the publication of slander and called them "enemies of our faith and our homeland." The meeting adopted a resolution calling for "retaliation" "instigators". The performances of Shahidov and other theologians were broadcast on Chechen television and spread widely in social networks, causing an exclusive of intolerable comments. In "New" they regarded statements made in Chechnya as a direct call for reprisal against journalists.

After the release of this publication, the publication’s website was subjected to DDOS Atak.

On Friday, the Mufti of Chechnya Salah Mezhiev said that the authors of publications on the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya would suffer "Allah's retribution." "I do not want to call these people people. This creature will answer the letter of the law. About retaliation: the retribution of the Allah Almighty will certainly overtake them. They not only overtook the feelings of some - they caught up the whole Chechen people, caught the clergy, hurt the most holy. They had to be afraid when they spread unreasonable slander. It was necessary to be afraid that they would be held accountable. They will answer, they will answer according to the letter of the Law of the Russian Federation, ”said Mezhiev.

Press Secretary of Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Muratov’s appeal in the Kremlin about threats to journalists. There are legal ways to dispute slanderous publications, the official said. "Illegal methods of influence" on journalists, he assured, in the Kremlin is not approved. At the same time, Peskov noted that he did not know about the persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya and appeals on these facts to law enforcement officers.

In turn, Shakhidov said that Novaya Gazeta journalists will have to “ ask for forgiveness” on his knees if they could not prove the fact of persecution of homosexuals in Chechnya. “There were no mass persecution of people with improper orientation in Chechnya, this is a real lie and slander,” Shahidov said. “They (journalists. - Ed.) They should ask for forgiveness from the Chechen people on their knees or prove what they wrote and distributed. In Chechnya people with improper orientation were not and will not be by the will of the Almighty.”

At the same time, Shakhidov said that the journalists incorrectly interpreted the resolution of the Chechen clergy about the retaliation of the Novaya Gazeta. According to him, it was a lawsuit for the publication for slander. “They caught on the word“ retaliation. ”But we do not forget that we live in the legal field of the Russian Federation and can, by law, punish these people. The clergy of Chechnya will definitely sue the“ new newspaper ”for their publication,” Shahidov said.

The adviser to the head of Chechnya called the article offensive and noted that the adopted resolution made it possible to reassure people who were outraged by the publication. "Representatives of all religious movements in the region were outraged by the slander of Novaya Gazeta and offered to go out into the streets with a mass rally. But we prevented this by gathered everyone in the mosque and promising to prosecute all the perpetrators within the framework of the Law of the Russian Federation," Shahidov said.

On April 1, the New Gazeta published an article by Elena Milashina about the mass detentions of Chechen men who are suspected of homosexuality. As stated in the publication, more than 100 people were detained. In Chechnya, this information was called a lie. At the same time, officials denied the very presence of homosexuals in the region and at the same time stated that homosexuals deserve death.

On April 5, another article of Milashina appeared. It reported that the detainees were kept in a secret prison in Argun. The initiators of the persecution in the publication were named the speaker of the Chechnya Parliament Magomed Daudov (Lord) and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Argun Ayub Kataev.