In the Stavropol region, a lawyer for the Committee against Torture was detained after a search; he reported the abduction of 40 relatives in Chechnya

In the Stavropol Territory, security forces searched the home of Committee Against Torture lawyer Abubakar Yangulbaev and took him to the police in Pyatigorsk. The organization reported this to Mediazona.

“We fear that Abubakar may be taken to Chechnya, where his life is in danger. We don’t know the reason for his detention,” added checkpoint press secretary Natalya Kurekina. A lawyer is not allowed to see him.

Later, human rights activists reported that Yangulbaev was released from the police department after interrogation as a witness in a criminal case for justifying terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). The lawyer was not told who is accused in this case.

“During the interrogation, he was asked questions about his involvement in a telegram channel criticizing the authorities in the Chechen Republic. Abubakar has already reported that he has no relation to such resources,” the press service of the “Committee against Torture” clarified.

On December 25, Yangulbaev said that “Kadyrov’s men kidnapped” about forty of his relatives in Chechnya. Several Chechen bloggers who live abroad also reported similar incidents.

Updated at 4:50 p.m. Information has been added that the lawyer was released from the police.