50,000 US dollars demanded by security structure for kidnapped Chechen teenager

Magomed Akhayev, a 17-year-old resident from the Alkhan-Yurt village in the Urus-Martan district, was kidnapped from his home a month ago and his family is convinced the operation was carried out by members of one of the Chechen security forces.

Although the assailants wore masks and arrived in unlicensed cars, Akhayev's relatives eventually managed to contact them; after lengthy talks, the kidnappers asked for a $50,000 payment for Magomed's release.

Akhayev's relatives assert there was no ground for his detention. Four years ago the youth lost his leg after stepping on a mine, and his family believes that Chechen security forces apparently interpret disability as a sign of his having taken part in the resistance, even though Magomed was only 13 at the time of the accident.