Chechnya's TV chief alleges Chechen expatriates have ties to LGBTQ+ and Wahhabist organizations.
In a recent development, the head of Chechnya's state television and radio company, Chingiz Akhmadov, has made a controversial statement accusing Chechens living in European countries of links to queer communities and supporting radical Islam.
Akhmadov's statements were made on the talk show 'Chechen History: War and Peace'. He claimed that representatives of the Chechen diaspora in Europe allegedly cooperate with LGBT organizations, whose activities have been recognized as extremist and banned in Russia since a Supreme Court ruling in November 2023.
Akhmadov also claimed that these people demonstrate support for the radical Islamic movement of Wahhabism, a term used in the North Caucasus mainly in a political and legal sense, referring to radical Islamic movements associated with violence and extremism.
Thousands of Chechens have moved to European countries over the past decades, forming a diaspora that organizes cultural and political events, including those connected with the memory of the armed conflicts in the republic in the 1990s and 2000s. Some of these events held by the Chechen diaspora are under flags which in Chechnya and at the federal level are officially regarded as the symbols of unrecognized structures.
In his recent statements, Akhmadov claimed that among Chechens abroad, it was common to use symbols combining signs associated with the self-proclaimed Ichkeria and images associated with queer movements.
The Chechen Human Rights Commissioner, Mansur Soltaev, supported Akhmadov's statements, stating that it is good that these people no longer live in the Chechen Republic.
ChGTRK representatives have made previous public statements about the activities of Chechens living outside Russia, including accusations about their participation in public associations. A fragment of the programme was published on the official ChGTRK Telegram channel.
Officials in Chechnya regularly criticize the 'Ichkerian diaspora' and their public events. The activities of the 'LGBT movement' were banned in Russia in November 2023. Any form of mention or support of this 'organisation' in Russia has been considered a violation of the law since then.
However, it's important to note that there are no specific search results directly naming organizations in Europe supporting Chechens that are labeled as extremist by the Russian government and attacked by the Chechen state media under Chingiz Akhmadov's leadership.
In the North Caucasus, the attitude towards 'Wahhabism' is generally negative, as it is associated with wars and terrorist attacks. Among the population of the region, the attitude towards 'Wahhabism' is generally negative, as it is associated with wars and terrorist attacks.
The self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was established after the collapse of the Soviet Union and existed until 2000, when it was crushed by Russia following two wars. The authorities in the North Caucasus have conducted campaigns against 'Wahhabis', closed 'unofficial' mosques, and tightened control over religious life.
The authorities in the region have been conducting campaigns against 'Wahhabis' and have tightened control over religious life. Thousands of Chechens have moved to European countries over the past decades, forming a diaspora that organizes cultural and political events, including those connected with the memory of the armed conflicts in the republic in the 1990s and 2000s.
The activities of the 'LGBT movement' were banned in Russia in November 2023. Any form of mention or support of this 'organisation' in Russia has been considered a violation of the law since then. It's important to note that there are no specific search results directly naming organizations in Europe supporting Chechens that are labeled as extremist by the Russian government and attacked by the Chechen state media under Chingiz Akhmadov's leadership.
