In Chechnya, students hold action in defence of football player arrested for murder

In Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, students of the Chechen State University (ChSU) held an action in support of the member of University's football team, who killed this February in a mass fight in the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov Region, one of local residents.

In the afternoon on November 10, several dozens of ChSU students rallied in the Journalists' Square in front of the House of Press in Grozny. The protesters voiced against arbitrariness in relation to their schoolmate and football player Khizir Akhmatov, accused of chaud-medley.

According to students, on February 17, 2008, the ChSU football team took part in the All-Russian Football Tournament held in Novocherkassk. After the match, Chechen football players were attacked by some thirty local residents armed with fire-arms and knives. During the fight, while defending against the pistol aimed at him by one of the attackers - Nikita Ubozhenko 21, a resident of Novocherkassk, Khizir Akhmatov committed an unpremeditated murder.

"We want our President Ramzan Kadyrov to interfere with this situation and stop lawlessness. Khizir acted exclusively for self-defence and made no deliberate murder, although they try to charge him with that and sentence to long imprisonment," say the students.

According to the students, they plan to hold actions in support of Khizir Akhmatov in the future. This February, in protest against actions in relation to the student they even refused to attend lectures. The demanded from the ChSU administration and leadership of Chechnya to take measures towards Akhmatov's release. The action lasted for two days and was suspended only after intervention of the Rector's Office, which promised to take all possible steps to solve the situation with Akhmatov.