The letter, which cites a line attributed to Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Cheka, the Soviet Union's first secret police, was sent to Ibragim Tochiyev, according to the human rights group Team Against Torture, as reported by Ostorozhno, Novosti and OVD-Info.
OVD-Info published the text of the letter: "The fact that you are free is not your merit, but our failure. Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky. Respectfully, the investigative department for the city of Malgobek of the Investigative Directorate of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Ingushetia!" The rights defenders do not know who exactly sent the letter.
According to Tochiyev, in late June two armed men in camouflage burst into his home. His hands were bound with plastic zip ties and, he claims, he was struck several times on the head and body on the way to an official vehicle.
Tochiyev's brother Tamerlan was detained along with him. At the police department, the brothers were told that the detention was connected to a 2024 criminal case involving theft and arson, in which Tamerlan is a suspect. The Tochiyevs themselves believe the security forces' interest stems from a land dispute with the administration and complaints about officers of the police department.
After the incident, Ibragim filed a report on abuse of office (Article 286 of the Criminal Code), but a criminal case was refused. Tochiyev appealed the investigator's failure to act, noting that the investigator had not carried out the necessary checks. In response, he received the letter with the Dzerzhinsky quote.