Chechen minister publishes video of Belkisa Mintsaeva, who tried to take her daughter back from her ex-husband

Chechen minister published a video of Belkisa Mintsaeva, who tried to take her daughter back from her ex-husband. Now she is asking people “not to make her family into a news hook”

Chechnya’s press minister, Akhmed Dudaev, published a video of Belkisa Mintsaeva, a mother of two who accused her ex-husband of abducting their younger daughter and asked the Investigative Committee for help.

In the 20-second clip, Mintsaeva addresses Telegram channels and everyone writing about her family. “We are all fine, I am alive and well, my children too. A big request: please do not make us into a news hook and do not write about us everywhere. Thank you for understanding,” Mintsaeva says.

In April, Mintsaeva recorded a video appeal to Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin. She said that her ex-husband had abducted their two daughters while they were on vacation in Chechnya with their grandmother. Mintsaeva asked for help to get the younger child back (the court had returned the older daughter to her). Human rights defenders published this appeal after Mintsaeva was forced through blackmail to come to Chechnya, after which she stopped communicating.

@meduzalive