How Kadyrov Hires Fighters For Russia: 'Sign The Contract Or Go To Secret Prison'

Amid reports of their brutality and alleged role in the Bucha massacre, the Chechen troops are allegedly kidnapping the residents of Chechnya to be sent as "volunteers" to the war against Ukraine.

According to human rights organizations, Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov has given the men in the region a choice: Sign the contract, or spend indefinite time in "secret" prisons, according to Caucasus Realities, a wing of Radio Liberty.

The officials of the human rights organization, Vayfond, said they receive letters from people in the region against being forcefully sent to fight. "We are talking about dozens of people. They write with great distrust, anonymously, and try in every possible way not to identify themselves. They, seeing the hopelessness of the situation and realizing that they will have to go to Ukraine, ask how they can go over to the side of the Chechen battalion named after Sheikh Mansur," Vayfond official told the news outlet.

According to the organization, the "volunteers" include those with disabilities and people who have nothing to do with government or law enforcement agencies. "There are civil servants who were obliged to sign an application, but so far they are not sent to the front, but are kept in reserve," they added.

There are reports that the people are threatened to sign the letter. "It is against their will. Moreover, in case of injury or death, extremely small amounts are offered as benefits, not what the propaganda says," the officials added.

Islam Belokiev, an opposition blogger and author of the "Mysli Islama" (thoughts of Islam) YouTube channel, too said that there were dozens of confirmed cases of abductions. According to him, only a small part of the victims turn to human rights activists. Some of the abductees are tortured, humiliated, and blackmailed, while others face verbal threats of reprisals against their relatives.

"This is an attempt to curry favor with the authorities, including Kadyrov and Putin. Everyone is trying to prove that he is needed. First of all, Ramzan himself. It is also important for him to create an image of popular support. Hence all these public gatherings, oaths, promises, and threats," Belokiev was quoted by Caucasus Realities.

Recently, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine published a list of Kadyrov’s so-called "volunteers" who were sent from Chechnya to Ukraine between March and May. It contains the names of 2,425 people, of which about 100 are listed as killed. The database also revealed the details of the regions from where the volunteers were drafted.