Embed

My son, ex-terrorist

Former Caucasian insurgents reintegrate into society

The Republic of Ingushetia is the smallest and youngest of the southern Russian republics. It’s seen several conflicts, anti-terror operations and retaliation in the past 20 years. Terrorists have been fighting to create an Islamic state in the North Caucasus, and young men increasingly find the cause attractive. 

Khadishat hadn’t seen her son, Musa, for two years. He ‘went into the woods’ at the age of 18 after watching Islamic videos on the internet and communicating with militants. Now Musa is part of a reintegration programme for former insurgents, while the local police keep a close eye on him.

Some of them follow friends or relatives they look up to; others become radicalised through jihadi videos on social media and the internet. Recruits join the insurgents in their forest hideouts, or how locals call it, ‘going to the woods’. Meanwhile, families pray their sons will stay alive and soon come back. 

In 2009, one of the worst suicide bombings rocked the republic, when a truck crashed through the gates of the police headquarters in the city of Nazran and blew up near an arms depot. At least 20 people were killed in the blast.

RTD goes to Ingushetia to meet former terrorists and their families, who share their stories of separating and reuniting again. We also hear from those who lost children to ‘the woods’ or in counterinsurgency missions on the side of law enforcement.

In 2011, Ingushetia introduced a programme designed to reintegrate former members of armed militant groups into society. The rehabilitation requires participants to visit a local mosque.

Subscribe to get stories the mainstream media ignores: Subscribe RTD's Youtube

WATCH TRAILER
Please rate this film

8.50(4 users)

Published: 06 October 2013 00:00

Duration

26:08

Tags
Watch this film in Russian

don't miss

26:33
Health 20 April 2014 00:00

See Me, Hear Me. Autistic nephew committed to psych ward by ‘kind’ aunt tries to get back 3-room flat she sold off

26:33
Traditions 21 April 2013 00:00

Blood and honour. Chechen vendetta code

26:33
Religion 17 June 2013 00:00

Dukhobors. Community of Faith. Orthodox Christian Sect that Rejects Clergy, Icons & Rituals

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 08 February 2019 00:30

Where Childhood Died. Former Syrian child soldiers and their emotional scars

26:33
Lifestyle 05 February 2018 00:00

Art at the Stake. Afghan artists risk lives to return style, music, and culture to their country

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 26 May 2021 17:00

Syria. The Story of One Tragedy . Leith - a boy whose entire family was killed before his eyes

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 25 August 2021 17:00

US Prison for Afghanistan. Haji Ghalib: from Anti-Taliban combat to Guantanamo

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 01 September 2014 00:00

Letters to a terrorist. Ten years after the Beslan school siege, some of the victims' families write to one of the terrorists

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 22 October 2012 00:00

Surviving Terrorism: 10 Years On. Moscow theatre terrorist attack survivors share why they choose life

26:33
Politics 10 June 2022 12:00

CSTO Allies: 30 years protecting collective security. Post-Soviet alliance fighting terrorism and protecting common interests

26:33
Politics 11 October 2022 12:00

Nuclear Blackmail. The shelling of the Zaporozhye power plant puts international safety at risk

26:33
Military and War 19 October 2022 12:00

Demining Donbass. Sappers risk their lives clearing Donbass from Ukrainian mines

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 20 March 2023 12:00

US INVADERS: Iraq 20 years on. How America's Unsolicited Democracy Failed Iraq

26:33
Investigation 19 April 2023 12:00

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Rise of the Caliphate. How jihadists exploited the collapse of Yugoslavia

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 22 March 2023 12:00

Operation Ukraine: Terror on Demand. Ukraine’s Terrorist Methods from Soviet Times to Now

26:33
Politics 02 August 2023 12:00

Mali: Au Revoir, France. Mali fights to shake off the burden of French colonisation

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 08 September 2023 12:00

Lost Souls. Terrorists exploit religion to poach new recruits

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 30 November 2018 00:30

Hunting Boko Haram. Fed-up Nigerian Adamawa hunters take on Islamic terrorists

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 15 April 2024 12:00

Crocus: Strength through Pain. Survivors trapped with terrorists in burning building share their rescue story

26:33
Crime and Terrorism 01 September 2010 00:00

The Town of Little Angels. Six years after Beslan school siege

VIEWER’S CHOICE: 1,000,000 VIEWS AND MORE

VIEW ALL