"People are afraid of the authorities, they are afraid of each other, they are afraid of everything. "Chechnya is a place that is dominated by fear," said Svetlana Gannushkina, the founder of Russia's Civic Assistance Committee and a well-respected rights activist. A day later, Bayduev was arrested and hasn't been heard from since. In August, another Chechen refugee, Azamat Bayduev, was deported from Poland. Human rights activists have strongly opposed his deportation, warning he will face torture or even death if he returns to Chechnya. "It's a rare phenomenon that someone from the worst totalitarian enclave in Europe has become so outspoken," said Katya Sokirianskaia, director of the Conflict Analysis and Prevention Center in St. He calls it "a breath of fresh air" for Chechens who can't freely discuss such subjects at home. His channel, which has over 100,000 subscribers, focuses on human rights violations and endemic corruption. It offers a rare glimpse at the methods Chechen authorities use to intimidate critics.įorced to flee Chechnya after falling afoul of a powerful official, Abdurakhmanov runs a highly popular YouTube channel, criticizing and ridiculing Chechnya's authorities. The chilling video in which Daudov reportedly contacts Abdurakhmanov through WhatsApp and threatens him has been watched by over 2 million people. "I can't even fathom the horrible things that will happen." "If I go back there, that's the end for me," Abdurakhmanov told The Associated Press. His case highlights the challenges for people from mostly Muslim Chechnya trying to seek asylum in Europe, where governments have become increasingly reluctant to let them in amid terrorism fears and growing anti-migrant sentiment. Kadyrov and his security forces have been widely accused by international rights groups of extrajudicial arrests, torture and killings - and Kadyrov has warned that Chechens who fled abroad will pay dearly for their criticisms of his rule if they return home.Ībdurakhmanov - who fled Chechnya in 2015 and has been seeking asylum ever since - now faces deportation from Poland. He was apparently talking to one of the most feared men in the Russian province of Chechnya, Magomed Daudov, the right-hand man of strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. "But you people are cruel, so I'm always on my guard." "I'm not scared of people like you," he says, looking into the camera. The man on the screen, 32-year-old Chechen video blogger Tumso Abdurakhmanov, frowns. MOSCOW (AP) - A gravelly voice rings out from the phone's loudspeaker: "Aren't you scared of me?"
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