A resident of a Chechen village, detained for filming the demolition of residential buildings, was released

A resident of the village of Oiskhara (Novogrozny), Rasul Mataev, who was allegedly detained on June 18 because of the publication on the Internet and WhatsApp of a video about the demolition of residential buildings during the reconstruction of the village, was released. This was reported by the "Caucasian Knot" with reference to his relatives, who said that the young man was forbidden to leave the village. From the moment of detention, relatives had no information about the whereabouts of their detained relative.

“Rasul was released on Tuesday, June 27. Now he is at home. He was forbidden to leave the village, because at any moment he could be called to the police. Perhaps, as is now customary, he will be forced to publicly apologize for what he has done,” one of the young man’s relatives, who wished not to give his name, told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

On June 13 and 14, more than ten people were detained in Oiskhara in connection with the search for the author of a video about the demolition of residential buildings. Now they are free. According to the portal "Kavkaz. Realii”, one of the streets of the village is being expanded to build a mosque named after the great-grandfather of the head of Chechnya, Sulim Kadyrov.

Officially, the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that it had no information about the detentions, and on June 17, the Grozny TV channel reported that the media that reported on the police raids in Oiskhara were “untrustworthy sources.”

“In total, after the video of the demolition of houses in the village appeared, the police detained about 15 people. Everyone's phones were checked. They demanded to name the person who was the author of this video and posted it on the Internet. In the end, they found Rasul, and they found photos and videos of the street on his phone. They held him for 10 days and released him, warning him not to go anywhere. It is hard to say what will happen next,” a resident of Oiskhara told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.