MOSCOW, January 8. /TASS/. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has strongly criticized the ex-chief of the former YUKOS corporation, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, for addressing the media community with a call for publishing more cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammed in the wake of the terrorist attack in France.
“After the bloody crime in Paris he must have imagined he is more French than the president of France or the prime minister of that country. At a time when the French authorities are busy with the investigation and with taking measures that would prevent a further surge of tensions Khodorkovsky has urged all media to follow in the footsteps of the Paris magazine and to go on publishing caricatures,” Kadyrov says on his page in the social network Instagram.
The Chechen leader believes that by making such calls Khodorkovsky has positioned himself as “an enemy of all Muslims of the world.”
“This means he is my personal enemy, too. I am certain that in Swintzerland, a country he loves so much, there will be thousands of law-abiding citizens who will bring this ex-convict to account. Apparently, that will be done in a harsh and explicit way,” Kadyrov said.
Earlier, the speaker of Chechnya’s parliament, Dukuvakha Abdurakhkmanov, strongly condemned the ex-chief of the former YUKOS oil corporation for his controversial statement.
“Khodorkovsky’s cynical thirst for fame and for capitalizing on the death of French journalists looks strangely similar to a recent such attempt by TV hostess Ksenia Sobchak. The risk of getting useless and being forgotten by all makes people like Khodorkovsky and Sobchak feel fear and try to win publicity at any cost. In this way they demonstrate their cynical essence of provocateurs determined to score points by inciting inter-religious and inter-ethnic strife.”
“Possibly, Khodorkovsky that morning was not quite in his right mind after the night before, otherwise he would have by no means shown such determination to become a foe for 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. From the moment he uttered these words Khodorkovsky is my personal enemy,” the press-service of Chechnya’s legislative assembly quotes Abdurakhmanov as saying.
The Chechen parliamentary speaker recalled that Russian president had pardoned Khodorkovsky and secured his release from prison to let him reunite with his ailing mother.
“Whereas behind bars Mikhail Khodorkovsky had been at least of some value to the Western countries (they considered him as a political prisoner), after his release he is of no interest to anyone. After that Khodorkovsky started making attempts to draw attention to his personality again. One day he may say that he would be ready to take up arms to fight for the Caucasus and the integrity of Russia (at a time when there is no war underway in the Caucasus), and the next day he declares his wish to be president. Now he has called upon all journalists to publish caricature images of the Prophet Muhammed,” Abdurakhmanov said.
On Wednesday, the Paris office of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo came under an armed attack, which left 121 people dead and 11 others injured. It was France’s worst terrorist act by the number of casualties over the past fifty years. The French police are pushing ahead with the search for those responsible. The raiders’ affiliation with groups of radical Islamists is considered the most likely version.
Previously, the magazine’s office was attacked in 2011 when it published caricature images of the Prophet Muhammed. The periodical has repeatedly been criticized for its content.