Human rights activists working in the Chechen Republic are not at risk and nothing threatens their life, the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported.
On Friday, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voiced concerns about "barely disguised threats" made by Chechnya's president against the staff of Russia's Memorial human rights group.
Kadyrov said last Saturday in televised comments that journalists and Memorial activists who criticize his policies are well paid by the West and "enemies of the people, enemies of the law, enemies of the state."
The head of Memorial, Oleg Orlov, said the group could close its branch in Chechnya as Kadyrov's statement might be interpreted by the republic's security forces as a call to action against human rights activists.
Kadyrov said he is amazed by rights activists' regular statements saying that there is a threat to their life in Chechnya. "I believe this is an artificial problem. Nobody in Chechnya endangers their life," he added.
Kadyrov emphasized he had abandoned his claim against Orlov at the beginning of the year and also denied information about new lawsuits against Memorial.
Lots of nongovernmental organizations work in the republic, Kadyrov said. "Their employees collect information about everything that happens in Chechnya and pass it to media and foreign centers." He said nobody throws obstacles in rights activists' ways.
The Chechen president appealed to his dramatic backgrounds. "I've lost my most loved ones at the struggle with terrorism and illegal armed bands that... kidnapped journalists, and human rights activists."
Kadyrov is already ranked among the world's worst "predators" of freedom by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) journalist organization.