The Chechen opposition movement NIYSO has reported a new wave of mass detentions and raids across Chechnya. According to the movement, information about the incidents has been received from several districts of the republic. NIYSO activists additionally stated that relatives of the detainees are receiving threats that they may ‘never see their loved ones again’.
According to NIYSO’s Telegram channel, they believe the detentions have been indirectly confirmed via a post published in the WhatsApp status of Rustam Aguev, who they say is the head of the Interior Ministry department for Chechnya’s Kurchaloy district. The message, allegedly addressed to relatives of detainees, read: ‘No one should write to me asking to release anyone until I complete my task. I know whom I must obey. Everyone else — stand down. No offence’.
The movement has named several of those they say were abducted. These include three residents of the village of Nizhny Noyber: 23-year-old Makhdi Khasanov, his wife, and his brother Musa Khasanov. Activists claim that their detention may be linked to the circle of MP Adam Delimkhanov.
On Friday night, the movement also reported further detentions in the settlement of Pobedinskoye 15th Molsovkhoz (‘15th Milk State Farm’). According to NIYSO, people with the surnames Dudarov, Gaitiev, Khizirov, Khakiev, and Sunaypov were abducted.
The movement has noted that ‘the Russian regime continues its hunt for young people’, claiming that some detainees are allegedly taken to military enlistment offices and forced to sign contracts with the Defence Ministry. They also report cases of extortion, with relatives of detainees allegedly being asked to pay ‘hundreds of thousands of rubles’.
Earlier this week, NIYSO reported the detention by security forces of 40-year-old Ismail Zakariev at Makhachkala airport, immediately after his arrival from Saudi Arabia.
They also reported the abduction of at least six Chechen residents, including elderly individuals. According to the activists, those abducted were residents of the Sheikh Iznaur settlement in Grozny, formerly known as Prigorodnoe. The reasons and circumstances of the incident are currently unknown, the movement said.
Elizaveta Chukharova
In 2025, NIYSO activists said they had counted several hundred abducted residents of the republic, adding that the alleged victims include women, children and people with serious illnesses. They stated that at least several people died as a result of torture, while many others were sent to fight in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
NIYSO, which can be translated from Chechen as ‘equality’ or ‘justice’, was established in August 2022. The group describes itself as a network of information activists who publish content on their Telegram channel, much of which concerns reports of abductions in Chechnya and criticism of Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen authorities.
The NIYSO movement regularly publishes information about alleged human rights violations in Chechnya, but a significant portion of these reports lacks independent confirmation. Due to limited access to information in the region, verification of such claims remains difficult.
In autumn 2025, a regional Supreme Court declared the channel and its authors an ‘extremist organisation’. Some of NIYSO’s previous reports of enforced disappearances in Chechnya have been confirmed by sources of RFE/RL and the human rights organisation Memorial.
Loujaine Laamal
