Ex-judge Yangulbaev and his daughter left Russia amid threats from Kadyrov

Retired federal judge Saydi Yangulbaev, whose wife was kidnapped by Chechen security forces, left Russia with his daughter Aliya. About it writes “Committee Against Torture”.

The Yangulbaevs told human rights activists that their departure was connected with a threat to their lives. Former head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov named the Yangulbaev family as “accomplices of terrorists” and called on them to detain, and in case of resistance – to “destroy”. The day before, Kadyrov also wrote: “Be that as it may, I declare that this family is waiting for a place either in prison or underground. And it doesn’t depend on me anymore.”

Where exactly Saidi Yangulbaev and his daughter went, the Committee against Torture does not specify. At the same time, the middle and youngest sons of Yangulbaev are currently in Vilnius.

On January 20, in Nizhny Novgorod, Chechen police broke into the apartment of Saidi Yangulbaev. The security forces could not kidnap him himself, since he has a judicial immunity status, but they took away his wife Zarema Musaeva. The pretext for the abduction was that she was allegedly a witness in a fraud case in Grozny, where they were going to take her by force. Musayeva is sick with coronavirus, in addition, she has diabetes. She is dependent on insulin, which she was not allowed to take with her. Her family feared that she might die along the way. As she was being dragged up the stairs, she lost consciousness.

The police and the FSB officers of Nizhny Novgorod did not react in any way to the requests of Musaeva’s relatives for help and the allegations of the abduction. The Kremlin said it was not aware of the details of the abduction and preferred not to believe it.

The “Committee against Torture” filed an urgent complaint with the ECtHR under Rule 39 in connection with the kidnapping of Musayeva. Rule 39 – “fast legal aid” from the ECtHR. It applies if there is a threat to life or harm to human health, and all national remedies have been exhausted.

Saydi Yangulbaev’s son Ibragim, known for his sharp criticism of the Chechen authorities, in an interview with Dozhd TV channel declaredthat in 2015, together with his father and brother, he was kidnapped and tortured at the residence of Ramzan Kadyrov, and Kadyrov personally participated in the torture.

According to Ibragim Yangulbaev, the three of them were tortured and beaten for criticizing the government: “Personally, Kadyrov tortured me, tortured and beat my father, my older brother.” Ibragim Yangulbaev said that later his brother and father were released, and he himself was taken to the Terek SOBR (now the Akhmat SOBR), where they continued to mock, after which they kept him in the basement for six months.

Ibrahim Yangulbaev informed about this and on his Instagram account: “I was kidnapped, my father was kidnapped, my older brother Abubakar was also kidnapped. We were tortured in the residence and tried to get me to apologize and stop my activities. They threw me into the basement, kept me there for six months, no one knew that I was alive or dead.

Saydi Yangulbaev as well told publication Znak.com about what happened at the residence of Kadyrov: “Abubakar and I [старшим сыном] they were taken there first. They started beating Ibragim while we were still there, then continued when we were released. Abubakar Ibrahim tried to cover himself up, they also started beating him. Then I could not stand it already, pounced on them. I say to Ramzan: “What are you doing at all ?!” I got hit too. Then he said: his [Ибрагима] leave them here [Сайди и Абубакара] send home. ⟨…⟩ According to Ibragim, Ramzan beat him, stood with his feet on his neck. Lord beat – Daudov ⟨Magomed Daudov, nicknamed Lord – Chairman of the Parliament of Chechnya⟩… Yes, everything, in short.

Abubakar Yangulbaev, in an interview with Znak.com, also mentioned torture at Kadyrov’s residence: “In 2015, I, my father and Ibragim were kidnapped personally on Kadyrov’s orders, taken to his residence. And there we were tortured. All this was because we criticize the government.”

In conversation with The Insider, he addedthat the head of Chechnya personally accuses him personally and his entire family as a whole of involvement in the ADAT Telegram channel. “This is a channel that criticizes the Chechen authorities, they write about the Chechen realities – abductions, torture, murders, in which the Kadyrovites are involved, about money laundering, fraud – a complete package of the Criminal Code,” Yangulbaev explained.