A man who complained to Russian President Vladimir Putin about official corruption in Chechnya has offered apologies to the region's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.
In a televised statement on May 30, Ramazan Dzhalaldinov said he was "mistaken" and asked Kadyrov to forgive him for his previous statements, adding that he had never received any threats and was not hiding.
Dzhalaldinov, 56, an ethnic Avar from the village of Kenkhi in Chechnya, posted a video on the Internet on April 14 in which he appealed to Putin to intervene and stop local government officials who, he claimed, were extorting bribes from residents.
He later told RFE/RL that he had to flee Chechnya for the neighboring Russian region of Daghestan, fearing for his safety.
He also said that his house was burned down by unknown masked individuals after he fled Chechnya.
Human rights activists have accused Kadyrov of encouraging or condoning extrajudicial collective punishment -- including the torching of homes of insurgents' families -- in the past.
