| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Human rights activists assess chances of justice for girl killed in Chechnya |
| 2025-02-15 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [KavkazUzel] The practice of sending defendants and accused persons to the SVO zone creates a sense of impunity and increases the risks for women who are subjected to domestic violence, human rights activists are sure. In their opinion, the family of Kristina Kokova, who was killed in Chechnya, may face resistance if they demand punishment. As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, a resident of Bachi-Yurt, Ruslan Umayev, accused of murdering Kristina Kokova's daughter-in-law, went to the military operation zone. He confessed to the murder and stated that he did it because of the girl's immoral behavior, human rights activists reported. Saida Sirazhudinova, President of the Center for the Study of Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems "Caucasus. World. Development", Aida Mirmaksumova, Head of the "Fathers and Daughters" Project, and Amina Lorsanova, a lawyer at the "Vaifond" Center, assessed the practice of defendants in domestic violence and "honor killings" leaving for a military operation. The understanding that one can kill and remain unpunished increases the risks for women in the region, says Saida Sirazhudinova. "Any evidence that one can remain unpunished exacerbates the risks for women and reinforces the understanding that one can kill a woman and not be held accountable. Of course, this will not reduce the number of 'honor killings'. This is such a closed and private topic. As a rule, criminals are covered up. Now they will cover up the strong, but not all. Some people need to be sent to fight. Criminals are a target group for recruitment," she told the "Caucasian Knot." Women only seek help in extreme cases. They protect the family's reputation According to her, women in Chechnya generally do not seek help. "Women only seek help as a last resort. They protect the family's reputation. Reporting violence means putting yourself at risk. The worst thing that happens is that they play on feelings. On the daughter's feelings. Sometimes girls seek help, and then they get a call saying that someone close to them cannot survive if she leaves. And she pushes her interests aside, sacrificing everything. Even worse is that they play on the mother's feelings. This is a problem of terrifying scale and depth, traumatizing forever. As in this case, women have their children taken away, they are manipulated, pressured. And there is no help from anyone. Yes, there is the "Caucasus without a Mother" project, it is a group, they help. But not everyone has the courage to ask for help and defend themselves," she noted. According to the human rights activist, only public outcry can help Christina’s mother achieve justice.  "This is a gross violation of the rights of relatives to justice. When a crime is committed, the victim wants nothing more than to punish the criminal as severely as possible. Although all existing terms are too soft a price for life. And relatives are deprived of this too. This is a terrible trauma. Relatives can turn to the press. Unfortunately, now the only thing that can be done is publicity," she advised. In a situation where local authorities ignore appeals from relatives of victims of violence, and federal institutions do nothing, it is difficult to achieve significant results, she notes. "There are very few alternative ways to protect women in Chechnya. Women are accused of "immoral behavior" and the perpetrators are acquitted. As for helping women, everything depends on the situation and the family. There are families that can support and protect. There are those who are ready to kill, and not necessarily even for the sake of reputation. There can be many reasons, and immorality is easy to attribute. Running away is difficult, but sometimes it is important to save life. It is better when they consult and contact human rights activists beforehand. Because when I worked with "honor killings", it was clearly evident that many were simply without help and protection, and made fatal mistakes. We have already seen how the human rights group "Marem", despite pressure, saved girls. There are many activists and organizations. We will never refuse at least advice and warn against mistakes," she emphasized. The practice of sending defendants to the SVO zone will lead to new cases of "honor killings", believes Aida Mirmaksumova. "I heard this story, I did not go into details, but, in fact, no details are needed, considering that murderers, rapists, drug addicts and other criminals may not even sit out their sentences, but immediately declare their desire to take part in the SVO. People are afraid of losing their freedom, and here they will supposedly have freedom. At the same time, of course, everyone thinks that they will not be killed. The practice of sending the accused to the SVO zone has become a way to avoid responsibility. Does this practice encourage further "honor killings"? In fact, this practice encourages not only "honor killings", but all crimes. They already understand that yes, I did it, I committed a crime, but I will not go to prison, I will go and supposedly remain in imaginary freedom," she told the "Caucasian Knot". Mistrust is the most common reason that prevents women in Chechnya from seeking help, she believes. "The very first thing is mistrust. Mistrust of the government, mistrust of law enforcement agencies. In addition, law enforcement agencies in such traditional regions as Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, and the Caucasus as a whole are not considered to be entirely traditional. And people would rather turn to a mullah for help than to a government agency. There is no trust in the government and law enforcement agencies as part of this government. There are also cultural barriers, when, for example, it is better not to air dirty linen in public. Yes, we have all been taught this since childhood, that you cannot air dirty linen in public. That is why if they beat you, endure it, keep quiet, you can complain to your mother, but you cannot complain to the police, because you are disgracing the family. Naturally, a woman who asked for help not only from her family, but also contacted the police, she aired dirty linen in public, and therefore, disgraced the family," she said. In her opinion, in order for the accused to serve their prison sentences, it is necessary to repeal the law that allows them to be sent to the SVO. "It seems to me that this is the only option, because now there are no other options for the guilty to sit in prison and not be sent to the SVO," she said. According to her, human rights defenders have become an alternative for protecting victims of violence, since local authorities ignore their requests and federal institutions do nothing. "Only a human rights defender is the last chance that remains for women. These are human rights defenders who act according to the letter of the law, but listen to women. They certainly take into account local traditions, but do not rely on them when protecting women. And, naturally, we do not rely on any traditions. We take into account the specifics of the region, but we never pay attention to traditions. If a woman asks for help, if the family cannot protect, if the local authorities cannot protect, federal institutions do nothing, while the alternative, as the only way to salvation, remains, of course, the institution of human rights defenders, which still operates in the country, although it is not always safe," she said. Escape from the country is the most extreme option. From the country - when neither the family helps, nor the federal authorities help, nor the regional ones, no one According to her, sometimes women have no choice but to leave the region or country to protect themselves. "When there is a threat to life, you have to flee. If there is a real threat to life after a person has not been isolated, I mean some higher authorities, like law enforcement agencies, and he continues to threaten the life of a woman, her children, her peace and well-being, then, naturally, you need to get up and leave. Or try to somehow fence him off from yourself. If that doesn't work, then fleeing the region is, of course, also an option. Fleeing the country is the most extreme option. From the country - this is when neither the family helps, nor the federal authorities help, nor the regional ones, no one. And so you are left alone with this The practice of sending defendants to the SVO zone reduces the possibility of prosecution for crimes against women in Chechnya, believes Amina Lorsanova. "This is a very common practice. We have cases, we even know prisoners who were serving time for various crimes. And they were sent to According to her, if a woman or her family does not have any connections, then it is almost impossible to achieve justice. "If violence against a woman is committed by people who are somehow connected to Various methods are used to pressure victims of violence in Chechnya. "In the Caucasus, the problem is that a woman does not dare to leave her family, even when there is violence, so as not to be separated from her children, for example. Because there is such a culture of honor, when a woman leaves, her children are usually taken away. As for Chechnya specifically, there they usually involve someone from the authorities, they contact them. And it happens that a woman simply finds herself in a situation where she cannot leave this family, she has to endure everything. There is both psychological and physical violence. But domestic violence is not only a problem in Chechnya, it happens in any city in Russia. For example, an abuser, a narcissist manipulates a woman in various ways. It's just that in Chechnya they usually also use their connections, and the woman, knowing that if she leaves, she simply will not have the opportunity to fight in any way, endures. Although in the present time, more and more women decide She notes that every year there are fewer cultural and legal barriers preventing women in Chechnya from seeking help for domestic violence. "It's not that bad, actually. If these are ordinary people, not connected with the authorities, an ordinary domestic conflict or violence, a woman wants to leave or go to court, then such cases exist. And in fact, it should be noted that judges and the Sharia Committee on Family Law, they sided with the woman. And there are many such cases. But it is precisely the cultural barriers - this is when, for example, the girl's family does not want to conflict with her husband's family or does not want her to return home. But in our time, these cultural barriers are decreasing, because today women are given more freedom, the opportunity to choose. And there are a lot of divorces in Chechnya and the Caucasus in general. That is, these cultural barriers are becoming weaker and weaker," she said. We do not see any opportunities for this family to achieve the truth when it comes to Kadyrov’s structures. In this story, Christina's relatives, unfortunately, will not be able to achieve justice, because the authorities have already intervened in this process. "In the worst case, this family will be pressured to stop this investigation and their attempts to achieve justice. We do not see any opportunities for this family to achieve justice when it comes to Kadyrov's structures. Maybe it would work out in another place, but here, unfortunately, there is absolutely no law. And especially in the North Caucasus, especially in the Chechen Republic. Therefore, I do not see any chance for this family to achieve a result," she said. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #1 When all of the "important" people become fervent about human rights, all of them--including free speech, assembly, the right of non-incrimanation, the right to remain silent, etc, I will THEN start to give a damn what happens elsewhere. Until then, this is just another example of people stupidly charging into areas where *nothing* can be guaranteed and where things happen. |
| Posted by: Crusader 2025-02-15 02:10 |