Support The Moscow Times!

MMA Champion Amriev is taken to Chechnya

Murad Amriev Vasil Staretsky / YouTube

World MMA champion Murad Amriev is forcefully detained and taken to Chechnya over the case of blood feud between Chechen officials and one of the members of his family, reports Russian news site Mediazona. 

Amriev was charged with document forgery in 2013 and the case was closed less than a year later with the alleged forgery being a typo in a passport issued by local authorities to replace the documents lost during the war in Chechnya.

However, during the prosecution, Amriev reported torture and linked it to the blood feud opened against his brother by Magomed Dashaev, now head of Chechnya police. The MMA fighter then fled Russia fearing future prosecution.

In June 5, 2017 Amriev was again detained in Bryansk in Western Russia, reportedly on grounds of the same case. Among the policemen that arrived to transport him to Chechnya, he reportedly spotted one of his torturers. Being formally not under arrest, he escaped the next day.

On June 8 Amriev was arrested in Belarus, where he intended to apply for political asylum. The same day he was delivered to Russia on grounds of the document forgery case.

On June 9, Amriev’s family left for Chechnya, fearing for their lives.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more