16:31, 20 March 2017

Authorities of Chechnya deny coercion to participate in mass rally

Rally held on the occasion of the Crimea's annexation to Russia. Grozny, March 18, 2017. Photo by Akhmed Aldebirov for "Caucasian Knot"

No one forced anyone to participate in the rally, held in Grozny on the occasion of the anniversary of the Crimea's annexation to Russia, said Alvi Karimov, the press secretary of the head of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18 Grozny hosted a rally dedicated to the third anniversary of the Crimea's annexation to Russia, in which, according to the Mayoralty, several thousand people took part. At the same time, some participants reported that they were forced to take part in it.

On March 18, 2014, Vladimir Putin signed an agreement on the Crimea’s and Sevastopol’s entry into Russia, based on the referendum held on the peninsula.

According to the RBC, Djimbulat Umarov, the Chechen minister for national policy, foreign relations, press and information, has noted that "people of the Chechen Republic are totally voluntarily attending rallies."

According to his version, the rally on March 18 was initiated by the republic’s civil society.

Let us remind you that earlier participants of the rally on the Day of National Unity on November 4, 2016, also complained about the coercion.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.