At a meeting with officers from the Chechen Interior Ministry and the Russian National Guard, Kadyrov said he had ordered police to be “extremely vigilant” during the holidays. These are celebrated in Russia from January 1 to 8. The leader specifically addressed criminals who commit violence against law enforcement officers or tourists in the Chechen Republic.
“Any attempt on someone’s life will also have an impact on the relatives of the perpetrator,” said Kadyrov, who shared a video of the meeting on Telegram. “If we don’t find the perpetrator, we won’t keep looking. But we will definitely find his or her family. As has been the custom from time immemorial, if someone commits a crime and we cannot find that person, the brother or father of the perpetrator is killed.”
According to Kadyrov, it is not enough for family members of criminals to cut ties with them. “Disowning criminal family members is not effective until we resolve our vendetta,” he said.
It is not the first time that Kadyrov has made such rude statements. The Chechen has made it clear several times that he wants to eliminate his opponents with violence. For example, the leader has called in the past to “shoot demonstrators in the head” and “cut out the tongues of people who insult him”. Kadyrov’s 15-year-old son also came into controversy last September after a video surfaced of him beating a prisoner.