The Chechen Times

Civic group worker Murad Muradov abducted in Prigorodnoye

On the evening of April 28, Russian police from a checkpoint near the village of Prigorodnoye, Grozny region, detained and took away in an unknown direction Murad Muradov who worked for the Chechen civic group "Let's save our generation". At the time of arrest Muradov and his colleagues were returning to Grozny after completion of their humanitarian mission in Gudermes.

According to the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a car which  carried Muradov, 25, was stopped at checkpoint #33 located at the village of Prigorodnoye. The checkpoint was manned by police dispatched to the region from Russia. Eyewitnesses claimed all of them were drunk. Having checked Muradov's papers, they said they would arrest him because his identity card of relief worker looked suspicious. People that happened to walk or drive through the checkpoint at that moment protested his detention. A crowd of 200 people stayed there for nearly two hours to unsuccessfully demand his release.

Activists of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society that witnessed the incident turned for help to Chechen police that patrolled the area nearby the checkpoint. When the latter sought explanations from Russian police, they heard only swearing. Then a verbal skirmish ensued between Chechen and Russian police. Both parties even threatened to use weapons. In spite of all this, Russian police took away Muradov in an unknown direction.

[30.04.2003]