Elsa Kungaeva's father has passed away.

The father of Elza Kungaeva, a Chechen woman killed by Colonel Budanov, died in Norway. Visa Kungaev is buried in his ancestral village of Tangi-Chu, from where soldiers kidnapped Kungaeva in the spring of 2000.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in 2018, Visa Kungaev came to Chechnya for the funeral of Yusup Temirkhanov, who was convicted of the murder of Yuri Budanov and died in prison. According to his relative, Temirkhanov's wake in the village of Geldagan was attended by tens of thousands of people, including from Ingushetia, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Georgia.

Aset Malsagova, head of the North Caucasus Federal District correspondent bureau for the social and legal television channel Pravo-TV, reported on her social media page that Visa Kungaev had died in Norway.

According to Malsagova, Kungaev's body was sent to Chechnya for burial in his ancestral village of Tangi-Chu. The journalist admitted that during her interactions with Kungaev, she "always felt pain and shame for all of humanity." "And he passed the test with dignity, which Allah would never grant to any father in this world," she wrote.

Dozens of comments under Malsagova's posts expressed their condolences over Kungayev's death. Human rights activist Fatima Gazieva, in her commentary, recalled that "the Kungayev family has gone through the most difficult trials."

"Visita Kungayev, along with lawyer Khamzayev, human rights activists, and concerned individuals, sought justice and succeeded in bringing the culprit to justice. Visita himself was subjected to threats and pressure from the security services and various government agencies," she wrote, emphasizing that Kungayev "in the person of his daughter, defended the honor and rights of all Chechen women."

Gazieva's commentary on Kungayev's death was also published in a community dedicated to Chechnya. "I visited their family when, after a tragedy, my daughter and I were forced to move to a tent camp in Ingushetia. He was a wonderful person, as was his entire family. Despite the enormous grief that befell them, he did not give up and sought just retribution against the criminal," Musa Sadulayev wrote in the comments.

In 2009, when lawyer Stanislav Markelov was murdered in Moscow, police in Norway provided security for the Kungayev family. "They saw that my lawyer was killed in broad daylight in the center of Moscow. They took us under protection," Novaya Gazeta quoted Visa Kungayev as saying.

Visa Kungaev commented on Budanov's murder in 2011 with the words: "A dog's death," Kommersant reported.

"This isn't revenge for Elza Kungaeva. I'm the one who should avenge her. But if I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have to go to court. I'm a law-abiding person," Kungaev told the "Caucasian Knot."

Attending Yusup Temirkhanov's funeral in 2018, Kungayev noted his family's debt to the Temirkhanovs. "We all, on behalf of myself, my brothers, and the villagers, express our condolences. We are infinitely indebted to you and are ready to die for you. Geldagan should be proud of him [Yusup], and I am sure he will receive his reward from the Almighty," he said.

Elza Kungayeva's father left Yusup Temirkhanov's funeral after Magomed Daudov, now the head of the Chechen government, whispered something to him, Chechen opposition figure Tumso Abdurakhmanov* wrote on August 5, 2018. "According to eyewitnesses, the murdered girl's father, Visa Kungayev, changed his expression after Lord's words and was not seen again at the funeral," Abdurakhmanov* wrote on his Telegram channel.

On the day of the funeral, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied Temirkhanov's involvement in Budanov's murder. At the same time, Kadyrov acknowledged that the guilty verdict made Temirkhanov a national hero, "having avenged his dishonor" and the murder of Chechen girl Elza Kungaeva. On August 7, Chechen authorities organized their own wake for Temirkhanov, but significantly fewer people attended, according to local residents. At the memorial events for Temirkhanov, which took place outside of Russia, there was harsh criticism of the policies of the federal center and the Chechen leadership.

* added to the Russian Ministry of Justice's register of foreign agents.

** Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.