Human Rights Center “Memorial” has reported that pro-Russian regime’s armed members burned down the houses of Chechen mujahedeen relatives in the Russian occupied Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

On April 22, 2012 two Chechen mujahedeen were killed (shaheed insaAllah) in the outskirts of Gerzel-Aul village of Gudermes district of the Russian occupied Chechen Republic of Ichkeria during the special operation of armed members of pro-Russian regime. The killed were identified the same day. They were Akhmed Bantaev, born in 1990, resident of Komsomolskoe village of Gudermes district, and Bislan Alkhazov, born in 1988, resident of Koshkeldy village of Gudermes district. Two officers of Gudermes ROVD were also killed during the special operation. They were lieutenant-colonel Aslan Dzhamaldaev and head of criminal police, lieutenant junior grade Ahmad Adalaev.

Two days after the special operation armed people in camouflage uniform came to Komsomolskoe village, turned Bantaev’s relatives out of their house situated not far from school in the center of the village and burned it down. They did not allow the Bantaevs to take anything from the house, even documents. There was a fire engine near the scene. But it’s not known how it happened to be there. According to local residents, armed Kadyrovites called it to prevent the fire from spreading over to a neighbouring house. Firemen were told to pour water only upon that house. Bantaevs’ house and belongings were totally burned down. The owners of the house were grandfather and grandmother of the killed Chechen mujahedeen Akhmed Bantaev.

There was Akhmed’s parents’ house on the east uptown, in Olimpiiskaya str. Lodgers were living there. They were also turned out of the house without being allowed to take anything with them. The house was burned down.

It’s not the first tragedy which the Bantaevs face. Two members of the family, Abubakar (Bakar) and Salman, were participants of the first Russian-Chechen war. But at the beginning of the second war they applied to the Russian federal power structures and were amnestied. They didn’t take part in the second war. On January 2, 2003 they were abducted by the officers of so-called law enforcement authorities. Their whereabouts is still unknown.

After those events two sons of the elder brother of the abducted, Khozhi, – Khozh-Akhmed and Akhmed – joined Chechen mujahedeen groups.

On April 16, 2004, the armed Kadyrovites took Khozhi Bantaev, born in 1954, away from his house. In May, Khozh-Akhmed was killed during a skirmish between mujahedeen and the Kadyrovites. A week later Khozhi was released. He had been held hostage for a month and a week. In 2006, Khozhi died after a heart attack.