06.08.2008
On August 3, 2008 in Grozny was abducted Masaev Mohmadsalah Denilovich, born in 1966 in Chechnya, currently a resident of Moscow.
According to his brother Oleg Masaev, Mohmadsalah arrived to Chechnya the day before the abduction for the funeral of his sister. Having attended the funeral Mohamadsalah decided to visit his wife and children who at that time were in the town of Sernovodsk with their relatives. Having told his brother that he would catch a cab in the center of Grozny, Mahamadsalah left.
The following day the relatives of Mokhmadsalah started to search for him. In the Central Mosque in Grozny, where he usually prayed, the relatives were informed that Mohamedsalah had been taken away by armed men in camouflage in the center of Grozny, in the proximity of Rosselkhozbank building. Having received this information, Oleg Masaev turned to the police department of Zavodskoj district of Grozny, but the officials refused to accept his application.
Comments by the policemen clearly indicated to Oleg Masaev that the abduction of his brother was carried out by law-enforcement servicemen on orders from the leadership of the Chechen Republic.
On March 18, 2008 Magomedsalah Masaev was recognized as a victim within the framework of criminal case ¹55096 into his illegal detention in the mosque of Gudermes, together with Mr. Deniev M.A. and Mr. Sigauri V.A. Subsequently in 2006 all the three men were incarcerated in an illegal prison, Masaev during the period of four months. Masaev claimed he was kept at the base of Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, in the village of Tsenteroi.
Upon release, Masaev turned to international and Russian human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Memorial. On July 10 2008, he gave an interview to “Novaya Gazeta” newspaper (¹ 49 of 10.07.08.), where he testified against Ramzan Kadyrov.
See the article below (translated by Memorial)
Mukhamadsalakh Masaev “For Almost Four Months I was a Hostage of Ramzan Kadyrov”
This is the first witness testimony of a person who was illegally detained in “Reviving Chechnya”
In contemporary Chechnya many people are still subject to extrajudicial executions and detainment in self-styled prisons, to torture and humiliation. However, there is little official evidence of this, only rumors. The reasons for this are clear. If a person after all he has gone through nonetheless survives, then he as a rule would not hurry to report it to anyone, especially to law-enforcement agencies. If they abduct you again, you will not survive.
Mukhamadsalakh Masaev is a very rare exception to this sad rule. He wants everyone to know about illegal prisons in “Reviving Chechnya”. Of course, I had to warn him about possible revenge, but got his response: “I speak about myself and do not mention other people who were taken hostage with me. I have made my choice but do not want to put the others in trouble”.
I am a preacher: I teach people to respect law and authority, to preserve peace and believe in One God. I am 42 years old, I was born in Itum-Kale, a Chechen village at the border with Georgia. I served two years in the army. I finished one year of Moscow Transport Institute. And then decided to dedicate my life to religion.
On September 27, 2006 together with two friends I came to Gudermes. We spent several hours in one of the mosques: I prayed and preached goodness to Muslims. However, a local Mufti, a young guy, 10 years younger than I treated me and my preaching aggressively. We went to the central city mosque, presented ourselves to the Mufti, he smiled. The night of September 27-28 my friends and I spent at the local police. We were taken directly from the mosque. In MVD [police station] one policeman ”professionally” hit me on the ear and then started to pull out my beard and also he screamed: if without moustache but with beard he is a Wahhabi.
He also checked if I had underwear on me. But I am not a Wahhabi, I am a preacher.
At the Gudermes police it could have gone really bad if the Russian representatives of special services had not interceded on our behalf. So, in the morning of September 28 we were released. And two days later people in camouflaged uniforms and with machine guns stopped us again on the way to the mosque and informed us that we had to accept the invitation of Mufti of Chechnya Sultan Mirzaev to talk. You could not resist. Escorted by gunmen we went to see our “host”.
On the way there were many checkpoints, but our cortege was not stopped, on the contrary people in camouflage who escorted us were saluted to. Then we passed huge gates, similar to the ones which were built in Moscow in honor of Victory in the 1812 war. On one side of the gates was a bas-relief of an animal, resembling a wolf, on the other-resembling a lion. In the middle was a portrait of President of Russia Vladimir Putin. We were ordered to leave the car and get into a bus, which was constructed on the basis of KamAz truck, as if we were to be taken to Mufti on it.
This bus became our prison for the following month. We had to urinate into a plastic bottle, for the rest we were taken out of the bus once every twenty four hours, at night. If you could not endure, it was your problem- any corner was yours. At night it was very cold. This way we lived for over a month. We were not even told that we were kept hostages, we were only scorned. Thus once we were taken to a forest, they flinched the bolts of machine guns.. Then they laughed and brought us back. One day a person came named Jihad (Vahid Usmaev - V.I.), a commander of some regiment. He beat me and abused by humiliating words. Next day the guards took us to Ramzan Kadyrov. Kadyrov put his leg forward, as if offering to lick it and to ask for forgiveness.
When it became very cold, they took us to a local prison. In the cell next to us there were also other people. Once Ramzan Kadyrov called one of them “Malyy” [small one]. Malyy was around thirty, tall and skinny. This way we found out that in the local prison there were also punished associates of Ramzan himself. Did I see representatives of Russian security services on the base? Yes, I did.
My acquaintances, one of whom was from a rather influential family, were searched for by the relatives. Kadyrov was swearing that the guys were not at his place. However, the relatives found out the truth somehow. So they had to release my friends. This was around December 2006. They told me: it is too early for you to be liberated. Kadyrov added mockingly: ”You stay here and preach to my guys”. During the last month I could freely move around that base and I slept in the common barrack. This way I found out that I was at the territory of some military town.
Ramzan Kadyrov released me on January 21, 2007. That day he invited me to his home- for tea. I asked him, on whose foil had I spent so much time there. Kadyrov said “On the order of Mufti of Chechnya Sultan Mirzaev” - and setting me free he said something like that from now on I would have no better friend than himself.
From the Editor
As to the Mufti of Chechnya, to his portrait one could add another document “I resolve: To appoint Mirzaev Sultan the Chair of Supreme Sharia Court of the Chechen Republic Ichkeriya, having relieved him of the position of Imam of National Guard… ” Singed: Maskhadov
Recorded by Vyacheslav Izmailov