Akhmad Kadyrov accuses Internal Ministry of the civilians disappearances
in Chechnya
On 24 December 2002, a session of the Government of Chechnya was held in
Grozny. The participants in the session discussed the question with regard
to raising the effectiveness and operativeness of the activities of Internal
Ministry, prosecutor's office, courts and other similar bodies of the Chechen
Republic. Speaking at the session, head of pro-Moscow Administration of Chechnya
Akhmad Kadyrov said: "We have to make the Internal Ministry responsible for
the existing situation. I
have a list of the missing people. 175 people have disappeared for the last
two months. How do they disappear? They are not lost in the forest. They
are not drowned. They were detained and then lost. Those who are responsible
for this say that they do not know anything about the missing people. Young
people born in 1981, 1982, 1983 are missing. There is no war here. It is
banditism and militia is responsible for aggravation of the criminal situation
in the republic".
These words of Kadyrov were broadcasted on TV of the republic. However, according
to the legislation, to the law "On Prosecutor's Office" in particular, the
crimes committed by the servicemen cannot be investigated by the bodies of
the Internal Ministry and Prosecutor's Office but are under the authority
of Military Prosecutor's Office. So, the cases on kidnapping committed by
the servicemen are submitted to the military prosecutor's office which, as
a rule, suspends the investigation, and the recommendations of the High Commissioner
on Human Rights of the Council of Europe on creation of joint investigation
groups on the part of Russia is demonstratively rejected.
The Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship, Press Release #328, December 23,
2002