Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov congratulated Vladimir Putin on his birthday and stated that the Russian president's name holds "special significance" for the Chechen people. According to Kadyrov, the region will "never forget" the support Putin extended to his father—Chechnya’s first president, Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov—"at a time when the future of the Chechen Republic depended on the decisions being made."
A native of Chechnya living in Moscow was sentenced to three years in prison for placing a shahada, one of the 5 pillars of Islam, on the window of his car. He was found guilty under the article on justification of terrorism.
Shahada is an Islamic symbol that is a testimony of faith in Islam. In Russian, it sounds like "I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I also testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
However, the investigation interpreted the sign on the car as an inscription associated with the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda. Initially, the Moscow Research Center for Expertise did not find any justification for terrorism in the defendant's actions. Then the investigation ordered a repeat examination in an organization subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, and it revealed a criminal act.