Russian law enforcement agencies have claimed that members of the Batalkhadzhin Sufi community were linked to the Caucasus Emirate*, a militant Islamist organisation. Human rights advocates, however, have questioned the allegations, noting that the group effectively ceased to exist more than a decade ago and that publicly available case materials contain little evidence of specific acts of support for militants.
In the village of Davydenko in the Achkhoy-Martanovsky district of Chechnya, security forces kidnapped a local resident, Isa Ozdiev. This was reported by the opposition Chechen movement NIYSO. It is noted that the man was forced to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry.
According to NIYSO, Ozdiev was tortured to obtain his consent, and is now being prepared to be sent to war in Ukraine. There is no confirmation of this information from other sources.
NIYSO claims that on July 16, Ozdiev, who recently returned from the army, was detained by security forces during a conversation with acquaintances. The reason was the discovery of "something prohibited" on his phone.
Activists claim that Ozdiev was tortured and threatened at the police station in order to force him to sign a contract. He is currently being held at the Akhmat-Kavkaz regiment base along with other abductees, and their dispatch to the front is planned for the coming days.