ASTRA: Chechnya sees raids, detentions ahead of elections

Security forces have carried out raids in Chechnya ahead of the elections, according to the independent media outlet ASTRA.

Citing human rights activist Maksim Rudnev, ASTRA reported that the raids began on 6 September, with security forces primarily checking people registered with the Interior Ministry.

Reports of raids have come from the Grozny district, near the village of Tolstoy-Yurt (Devkar-Evla), according to Rudnev. He said officers were going from house to house and detaining people they considered “unreliable”, with five to 10 or more people sometimes taken during a single raid.

Rudnev also said Chechnya had a developed network of “informants” who report minor violations, either under pressure from the authorities or on their own initiative. He said even a minor offence could become grounds for a “check”.

He also pointed to the involvement of schools in organising voting. In some schools, class teachers gather pupils’ parents, set a time to meet and then organise for them to go to polling stations together, Rudnev said.

Official turnout in Chechnya was around 63 per cent during the first day of voting.

By Aghakazim Guliyev