All U.S. human rights institutions 'pinnacle of hypocrisy', while law rules in Chechnya - Kadyrov
MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov has called the U.S. authorities' appeal to ensure the safety of mixed martial arts fighter Murad Amriyev an attempt to interfere with Russia's domestic affairs and advised the U.S. administration to address its country's internal issues and release inmates of its own prisons.
"Yet another statement of the U.S. Department of States on ensuring Murad Amriyev's safety is not a sincere concern for his fate, but a convenient moment to offend Russia once again, unbalance the situation in our country. If the U.S. authorities 'care so much', then they should look inside their country, show their 'generosity' and release all the worst offenders from the American prisons," Kadyrov said on Telegram on Sunday.
Chechen law enforcement authorities are acting in accordance with the law and nothing threatens Amriyev's life, he said.
"Amriyev said at a press conference that nothing threatens his life in Chechnya. Our law enforcement agencies work solely on the basis of the law. While your detained persons cannot hold a press conference because they're dead. All your human rights institutions are a pinnacle of hypocrisy. While the law rules in Chechnya. Those who breach it are being held responsible in accordance with the legislation. The U.S. State Dept cannot understand it, they're holding people in Guantanamo, torturing and killing them without any court," Kadyrov said.
"The country, where slavery was officially abolished due to an oversight only on February 7, 2013, the country, which brings democracy to other countries with missile strikes, the country where the capital punishment is a legal penalty, the country, where policemen are acquitted for killing innocent teenagers, the country, where protesters are shot, decided to teach the basics of the law to the country, which values a human life above all," Kadyrov said.
The U.S. administration's close attention to the situation in the Chechnya is due to the fact that the war had ended and peaceful life had resumed in the republic, he said.
"The war ended in Chechnya, terrorism has been defeated, people returned to normal life, all that certainly causes the U.S. authorities' concern. Certainly, it's hard for the Department of State to keep quiet, especially when no one asked it. A half of the world is drowning in blood because of your democracy," Kadyrov said.
As reported, the U.S. Department of State has called on Russia to ensure the safety of Amriyev and his lawyer.
"We are gravely concerned about the safety and well-being of Murad Amriev [sic], a Russian athlete from Chechnya, who was reportedly detained by Belarusian authorities and returned to Russia, where he may be in custody," Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Friday.
"Mr. Amriev has reportedly expressed fears of torture and abuse in Chechnya. We urge the Russian government to ensure Mr. Amriev has access to his lawyer and that his rights under the Russian constitution, laws and international obligations are respected. We call on the Russian government to ensure the safety of Mr. Amriev and his lawyer," she said.
The press service for the Interior Ministry for the Chechen Republic told Interfax earlier that Amriyev had been released from a police station in Grozny after agreeing to travel restrictions in the early hours of Saturday.
On June 4, Amriyev was removed from a train in the Bryansk region while travelling from Ukraine to Russia to resolve issues with documents needed for visa prolongation. He later fled from the building of the Investigative Committee's directorate for the Bryansk region.
Belarusian border guards detained Amriyev, who had been on the interstate wanted persons list, on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border earlier this week. The athlete intended to leave Belarus in a car with Russian license plates. The detained man was handed over by the border guard service to officials from the Dobrush interior affairs department.
Amriyev was on the wanted persons list at the request of the Chechen authorities, who accuse him of deliberately using a forged passport. At the same time, according to human rights activists, Amriyev is persecuted for his statements made in a Novaya Gazeta article on the 'blood feud' declared to him by the Chechen police. According to the newspaper, Amriyev contacted human rights activists in 2013, alleging that he had been abducted and tortured by Chechen police.
