MOSCOW -March 18, 2002-Associate Press Writer Sarah Karush

A Chechen human rights activist was released from captivity Tuesday, three days after being seized by masked gunmen in the war-ravaged Russian republic, his colleagues said.

Imran Ezhiyev, regional coordinator for the Moscow Helsinki Group human rights organization, was left on a roadside, said Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the organization's chairwoman. He made his way home and was unhurt, Alexeyeva said.

Ezhiyev said he was held blindfolded in a basement and interrogated by his captors, Alexeyeva said. She quoted him as saying he had not been beaten or tortured.

Ezhiyev, who also heads the regional office of the Community of Russian and Chechen Friendship, has been an outspoken critic of human rights violations in Chechnya.

Alexeyeva said she believed the kidnappers either were Russian servicemen or people loyal to the Moscow-appointed chief of Chechnya's administration, Akhmad Kadyrov.

"I know it wasn't the rebels," she said.

She attributed his release to efforts by colleagues in the human rights community, who appealed to the Kremlin, prosecutors and other officials.

Ezhiyev was stopped Saturday evening while driving with a colleague from Shali to Serzhen-Yurt in southern Chechnya, according to Memorial, another Russian human rights group active in Chechnya.

Masked gunmen emerged from two cars, checked Ezhiyev's identity documents and then forced him into one of their vehicles, Memorial said. He has been detained frequently by authorities, Memorial said.

The Vienna, Austria-based International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights appealed Tuesday to Russian President Vladimir Putin and to Kadyrov to help locate and free Ezhiyev.

At the time of his seizure, Ezhiyev was collecting information for Moscow Helsinki Group's report on Chechnya.

"Without a doubt, the seizure of Imran Ezhiyev is directly connected with his professional activities," Memorial said.

Human rights groups repeatedly have accused Russian troops of brutality against Chechen civilians, who often find themselves caught up in or targeted during security sweeps and roadway checkpoints.

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