НАСТОЯЩИЙ МАТЕРИАЛ (ИНФОРМАЦИЯ) ПРОИЗВЕДЕН, РАСПРОСТРАНЕН И (ИЛИ) НАПРАВЛЕН ИНОСТРАННЫМ АГЕНТОМ «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» ЛИБО КАСАЕТСЯ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ ИНОСТРАННОГО АГЕНТА «КОМАНДА ПРОТИВ ПЫТОК» | 18+

On 5 October, 28-year-old resident of Ingushetia Marina Yandiyeva, with the help of the SOS SK Crisis Group, ran away from home, where she was subjected to domestic violence and restricted in movement. During some part of her trip, she was accompanied by the CAT’s representative, Magomed Alamov, who is an ethnic Chechen. At the same time, the human rights defender was not familiar with Ms. Yandiyeva and was not aware of her situation.

On 11 October, Mr. Alamov began receiving calls from the Center for Countering Extremism of Ingushetia police. The officers demanded that Mr. Alamov appear for questioning in connection with his involvement in the disappearance of Ms. Yandiyeva, who was put on the regional wanted list as a missing person. The activist responded by saying that he was currently in another region and had simply dropped the girl off.

Three days later, Chechen police officers abducted Alamov’s brother: he was taken to the regiment named after Kadyrov, where the policemen threatened him, ordering to contact Mr. Alamov and to convince Magomed to return to Chechnya. The policemen accused Mr. Alamov of collaborating with the SOS Crisis Group.

On 19 October, Marina, together with her lawyer, being at a police station of another region, filed a petition asking the girl’s removal from the wanted list, and on 20 October, the officers of that station informed the lawyer that police from Ingushetia requested to arrest Ms. Yandiyeva because of a theft report filed by her relatives.

Yesterday, Marina contacted her family, trying to resolve the conflict. The relatives handed the phone to Magomed Alamov, as it turned out that he was found and taken to the house of the Yandiyevs’ family. We publish some excerpts from Marina’s conversation with Mr. Alamov and her aunt.

The human rights defender of the Crew Against Torture said the following: «I’m at your home, surrounded by your relatives. My life and the lives of my relatives are under threat. They set a condition for me: one week for you to come home. If you don’t return within this week, they will kill me.»

Marina’s aunt, Zukhra Mestoyeva, confirmed Alamov’s words: «Let’s do it without consequences for other people, without consequences for our family. We should release this man quietly and peacefully. He has five children and a father who is seriously ill with cancer. His children are as small as kittens. You are a Muslim, you have a heart...»

Therefore, Magomed Alamov is a hostage to a situation in which his family, being in Chechnya, is under threat. The girl’s relatives, with the support of law enforcement officials, are putting pressure on the human rights defender, threatening to kill him if the girl does not return home.

Yandiyeva’s relatives are high-ranking people in Ingushetia who have administrative resources. Marina’s aunt, Zarema Antoshkiyeva, is the acting Minister of Health of the Republic. Marina’s uncle works in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia, another uncle has connections with the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Marina was subjected to domestic violence. In 2011, she entered a university in Moscow and managed to leave her family, but in 2015, her relatives took her to an Islamic center in the Moscow region for exorcism rituals, and then forcibly took her back to Ingushetia.

In 2016, the girl again tried to escape to Moscow, but she was tracked down, beaten and returned home. After that, Marina lived in isolation and without means of communication for three years, and her relatives fabricated a certificate about her mental disorder and threatened her with honor killing if Marina did not obey them.

In 2019, the family’s control weakened, and Marina was able to leave the house again and began preparing for a new escape. Currently, the girl asks to stop harassing her and stop threatening to kill uninvolved people.

The Crew Against Torture filed a petition with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor’s office, asking to ensure the safety of Magomed Alamov and his family members. The SOS Crisis Group applied to the Ombudsperson of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova.