In Austria, they arrested the Chechen blogger Murad Aslamkhanov, known as Murad Vensky, who earlier in his video message announced a blood feud against the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. This was announced on Thursday, September 17, “Kavkaz. Realities “with reference to relatives of Aslamkhanov.
Together with the blogger, his 29-year-old brother Mukharbek was detained. They were accused of illegal possession of weapons and summoned for interrogation, after which they were released. However, on September 16, police searched the Aslamkhanovs' house and detained both brothers.
According to the newspaper, Murad Vensky is accused, among other things, of threatening to kill Kadyrov's relatives and his inner circle. The relevant statements were made in one of the blogger's latest videos. In particular, threats were made to the Speaker of the Chechen Parliament Magomed Daudov and Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya Abuzaid Vismuradov. Aslamkhanov promised to fulfill this promise in case Kadyrov touches his relatives.
The blogger has previously criticized Kadyrov's policies in a video released in December 2019. At that moment he was in an Austrian prison. The Austrian authorities wanted to deport Aslamkhanov after his release from prison, but changed his mind as a result of the protests of his relatives and friends.
Aslamkhanov recorded his last video appeal to Kadyrov after the incident with the public humiliation of 19-year-old Chechen resident Salman Tepsurkaev. He called on the Chechen authorities to stop arbitrariness against the citizens of the republic.
The day before, the media reported that Murad Aslamkhanov's relatives had been detained in Chechnya.
In early September, a video appeared on the network with the participation of Salman Tepsurkaev, in which he apologizes for his activities, says that he is punishing himself, and sits on a bottle. Later, Novaya Gazeta reported evidence that Tepsurkaev had been abducted by residents of the republic. According to her, he was at the Terek SOBR base in Grozny. Then, Akhmed Zakayev, a former emissary and field commander of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), who now lives in Great Britain, stated that there was evidence of the Chechen authorities' involvement in torturing a young man with a bottle.
Kadyrov himself, commenting on the situation, said that it was “indecent” to publish such videos, and the speaker of the Chechen parliament, Magomed Daudov, noted that Tepsurkaev was punished by unknown persons for allegedly insulting women, and not for criticizing the actions of the Chechen authorities.
