The website Chechenews.com has reported that on April 26, a group of people held a protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Copenhagen in response to an official visit by Vladimir Putin to Denmark.

Chechen diaspora members lead the protest, but also representatives of the Ingushetian, Dagestani, Georgian, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sweden and Turkish diaspora participated. Yekaterina Kolesova, a columnist from the Russian paper Novaya Gazeta, and Ella Polyakova, head of the Russian Soldier Mothers in St Petersburg attended the action to show their support. The protesters held flags of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and Georgia as well as other banners.

The action group protested the visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to Denmark, and they explain that Putin is directly responsible for the military aggression in the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and Georgia where hundreds of thousands civilians have been killed. The group accused Putin of suppressing freedom and democracy in Russia and also killing prominent journalists and human rights defenders like Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova.

During the protest, Isa Munayev, head of the Free Caucasus organization, and public figures in Denmark, such as Professor Karl-Erik Foverskov made speeches.

The meeting ended with the protesters chanting slogans like “Putin is a terrorist!”, “Putin is a murderer!” and “Freedom for Caucasus – Freedom for Russia!”.

Photos from the protest:

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco