Since 2009, twelve Chechen critics of the regime have been assassinated or attempted murder in Europe.
Acts that have been established or are suspected to be politically motivated.
Assignment review has told about one of them, when the famous Chechen blogger and regime critic Tumso Abdurachmanov was attacked in his home in Gävle in February 2020.
- Every day the situation of the people of Chechnya is getting worse.
There are no bright spots.
But despite the risks, people continue to provide us with new information about threats they are exposed to, says Ojub Titiev, from the Russian human rights organization Memorial.
Memorial is Russia's oldest human rights organization - which Russian authorities are currently trying to shut down.
They document, among other things, people's testimonies of violations, torture and extrajudicial executions from within President Ramzan Kadyrov's harsh regime in Chechnya.
- The Kadyrov regime in Chechnya is a dangerous system that violates human rights.
It is dangerous for terror against the population, and the Kremlin allows it.
"Putin must be held accountable"
Assignment review has taken part in a secret report from the European intelligence service which places responsibility for the assassination attempt on Tumso, and on other critics of the regime in Europe, even higher up in the Russian hierarchy in Russia.
If the Kremlin does not demand Kadyrov, nothing can change in Chechnya, says Ojub Titiev, who emphasizes that the Kadyrov regime is financed with tax money from the Federal Treasury.
- To change something in Chechnya can only be done from Moscow.
It is Russian President Vladimir Putin who must be held accountable.
He is the head of state.
The Kremlin decides everything.
It is not enough to put the blame on the Kadyrov regime for the attacks on Chechen regime critics in Europe, says Ojub Titiev.
Answer from the Kremlin
Ramzan Kadyrov has ruled Chechnya since 2007 - all the time with the Kremlin's financial support to rebuild the republic from the ruins of war.
In exchange, Kadyrov promises fidelity to Putin and brutally strikes down opposition and demands for independence.
Anyone who does not follow him is considered an enemy.
Chechnya's Information Minister Achmed Dudaev does not want to answer Assignment review questions about the regime's involvement in the assassination attempt on Tumso Abdurachmanov.
- I honestly do not understand why you think we would need or want to comment on what any of the countless internet heroes are doing.
We have neither the time nor the desire to react to this individual or others like him.
In an email, signed "President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin", his spokesman responds to the Mission Review: "We really have nothing to do with these murders of people in European countries."