In Kazan, police officers broke into a crisis shelter and took away two girls from Dagestan

On the evening of October 18, police officers took away two girls from Dagestan who had taken refuge in the “Mamin Dom” crisis shelter in Kazan, Novaya Gazeta reports, citing the head of the “Good Deeds” charity foundation, Aliya Bainazarova.

Both girls arrived at the shelter on the night of October 18, and a few hours later, law enforcement officers burst into the building. "They entered 'Mama's House' as if it were their own home, opened everything wide, took the girls like things and took them to their police station," Bainazarova said.

The police did not say where and why they were taking the girls. Where they are is unknown. According to Bainazarova, the girls are now writing messages under pressure that they were forced to come to the crisis shelter.

Bainazarova said that both girls fled Dagestan because they were forced into marriage. Human rights activist Svetlana Anokhina said that both girls had "quite unhappy" lives. "A complete ban on any minimal freedom, you can't leave the house without your husband's permission. Both were married off because it was time," Anokhina said.

The Tatarstan Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that they were “hearing for the first time” about what happened in the shelter. “We are still investigating,” the police said.