Ramzan Kadyrov has expressed support for a group of Chechens involved in violent clashes in France earlier this month, insisting they were simply standing up for a fellow countryman when local police failed to help.
Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s southern Chechen Republic, spoke out after news that some of his compatriots were arrested following a series of incidents including arson in the French city of Dijon.
The unrest was sparked by an assault on a 16-year-old Chechen boy by local drug dealers, after which local Chechens took to the streets in large numbers. According to media reports, the situation escalated on June 12 when several dozen people, mainly Chechens, attacked a hookah bar.
Chechens had reportedly gathered from all over France, with others coming from other European countries, including Belgium.
Footage from last week’s violence went viral on social media, with one video of a car crash during street clashes gaining almost two million views in just five days.
“The local authorities could not bring the lawless drug traffickers to order, and then the younger generation took the situation into their own hands,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.
“My opinion is that the actions of the Chechens are correct. It’s not arbitrary! They rallied and went against the death-dealing drug dealers. I’m sure the inhabitants of Dijon are tired of these villains.”
According to local prosecutor Eric Mathias, certain Chechens in France used social media to call for retaliation against Dijon’s North African community, in an area called Les Gresilles. However, Kadyrov denied that ethnicity was a factor, instead claiming that “evil has no nationality” and “nationality should not be the cause of quarrels and showdowns.”
Following the mass unrest, Dijon police bought in reinforcements to help calm the situation. According to local news sources, 150 officers were deployed to search for stashed weapons.
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