Hundreds of people in Chechnya attended the funeral of Abdullah Anzurov, where they appeared to commemorate the 18-year-old. French teacher Samuel Patty beheaded A video was shown last month.

Anzurov’s body, who was reportedly returned to Russia for burial late last week, was displayed in a village in the city center. Chechnya In a procession of about 200 people, most of them young men chanting prayers as they walk to the village cemetery.

Anzurov’s coffin, carried on the shoulders of mourners in the city center of Shalazhi, was wrapped in green cloth.

While the death of Baty shocked France, prominent voices in Russia’s North Caucasus, such as Chechnya’s powerful leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, focused the blame on the country’s secularism and President Emmanuel Macron for allowing images of the Prophet Muhammad as “provocations and attacks on religion.”

Kheda Saratova, a senior member of a human rights advisory body for Kadyrov, confirmed to the state news agency RIA Novosti that Anzurov was buried “in the cemetery of the Shalagi village.”

Three short videos of the funeral procession were uploaded to a Russian-language social network called “Islam is the Religion of God” and then picked up by Russian news agencies.

Russian media also reported that local authorities learned of the funeral procession, but banned photography of the event and set up roadblocks near the village to prevent more people from attending.

Most of the Russian and Chechen state media did not report on the funeral, and a Kremlin spokesman said on Monday that he had no information on the reports of Anzurov’s funeral.

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Quoted from a village official Russian news site As a denial, Anzurov was buried in “special honor” but was simply buried near the graves of his relatives.

“He is a hero for the entire Islamic world,” the Prime Minister of Shalazi’s government was quoted as saying. There were about 100 people at his funeral. It was a normal funeral. I was definitely there, and I expressed my condolences to his relatives. This is my duty. “

Calls to the Shalazi village administration were not answered on Monday. An email to the official Salman Magomadov received an automatic response.

Kadyrov condemned the attack on Patti, but spent more time warning Western leaders of the dangers of antagonizing Muslims and “forcing people to commit crimes.”

Kadyrov took a public role as a defender of the Islamic faith while putting down a raging rebellion that was largely made up of Islamist elements.