Memory Project is publishing a report by Zorgan Bachayeva “Never Healing Wound”: Long-Term Consequences of Enforced Disappearances for the Families of Missing People in Chechnya.

“I think he is alive; he is just being held somewhere in the North in prison, but he will come back” — it was said by 57 years old Raisa, mother of four children, looking for her husband kidnapped by Russian security forces during the Second Chechen war.

After 20 years officials haven’t provided any information about the fate of missing persons. There are about 3-5 thousands of them, according to the Memorial Human Rights Centre.

Victims’ relatives still hope to establish the truth. Long lasting uncertainty brings them pain. Ambiguous loss doesn’t allow them to overcome the loss of a loved one. These experiences affect both their psychological and physical well-being.

The report is based on 21 interviews with victims’ relatives: wives, mothers, sisters and one daughter. Interviews happened in Chechen language at the city of Grozny in the summer of 2023.

Follow the link to read the full report