Dissent is Deadly
"Any person who talks about the situation in Chechnya, anyone who tells the truth, needs to fear for their lives", says Mansur Sadulaev, a former resistance fighter. He is attending a Chechen protest in Vienna in response to the public humiliation of a couple on national television - after they dared to question Kadyrov's beneficence. Even in Europe, dissident Chechens are not safe from the creeping arm of the state, following threats made publicly by Kadyrov: "Their relatives in Chechnya must be told to control their relatives in Austria. If they don't do this, then we will make them." Mansur himself has been personally threatened, after a video of him criticising the regime went viral in his homeland. Mansur knows to take Kadyrov's threats seriously; in January 2009, former presidential bodyguard Umar Israilov was shot dead in broad daylight in the Vienna suburb of Floridsdorf. Israilov had recently lodged a lawsuit against his ex-boss at the European Court of Human Rights. Meanwhile, Kadyrov has also developed a reputation for his extravagance - boasting an extensive collection of luxury cars, racing horses and even a private zoo, his personal fortune continues to accumulate; as long as he retains Putin's favour and his hold on the Chechen Republic.
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