| Abductors kidnap three people, including
policeman, in Chechnya 07.11.2004, 10.51 GROZNY, November 7 (Itar-Tass) - Bandits kidnapped three people in Chechnya over the past three days, Tass learnt on Sunday at the republican Interior Ministry. A group of armed people in camouflage uniforms and masks stopped a jeep of the local police precinct in the Okyabrsky district of Grozny. Attackers dragged policeman Khavazhi Zhumayev from the jeep, put him in their Lada car and drove away. Armed bandits in masks, acting in the Staropromyslovsky district of the Chechen capital, drove away jobless Ibragim Kerimov from his apartment. A similar crime took place in the village of Groragorsk where also a group of gunmen in camouflage uniforms and masks forcibly drove away Magomed Idrisov from his own house. Idrisov was known to work at a Sharia court during the rule of Maskhadov in the late 1990s. The court tried people under Moslem laws. Incidentally, Chechen law enforcement bodies forbade recently their officers to conduct operations in masks. The cases of kidnapping are now being investigated. Nothing is known about the fate of the abducted so far. 8.11.2004 Children in Chechnya Cautioned Against Mines CHECHNYA, Grozny. A children’s playground, restored with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was opened on 4 November in the Staropromyslov region of Grozny. Five more similar playing fields in different regions of the republic are planned to be opened by the end of 2004. According to a representative of the ICRC, hundreds of children in Chechnya have already suffered from mines and unexploded ammunition. The ICRC information programme on the danger of mines helps the children understand how to avoid accidents, but children also need areas where they can spend their free time without risking their lives and health. The playground is furnished with benches for adults to keep an eye on the children as they play. There are also information boards with warnings and advice on how to avoid mines and unexploded shells. The safe playground project was carried out by the ICRC with the support of the Norwegian Red Cross. Translated by Sue-Ann Harding PRIMA News Agency [2004-11-04-Chech-06] Remnants of seven slain businessmen reportedly found in Caucasus 08.11.2004, 18.19 CHERKESSK, November 8 (Itar-Tass) - A communal grave with supposed remnants of seven slain stockholders of the Cherkessk chemical plant has been found in the North-Caucasian region of Karachai-Cherkessia, a source at the regional police said. Remnants of the body of local legislator Ruslan Bogatyryov have been found in the same grave, he said. "The grave was discovered on a mine near the village of Kumysh," the source said. "Two men arrested in St Petersburg in connection with the case, Akbayev and Bostanov, named exactly that place to investigators". "Initial examination of the bodies shows they were sprayed with gasoline and set of fire, but a more detailed forensic expert study is ahead," the source said. Akbayev and Bostanov belong to the inner circle of associates of Aliy Kaitov, the son-in-law of Karachai-Cherkessia's president. Investigation against the man has also been opened. Witnesses in this glaring case say it was Akbayev and Bostanov who had the duty of taking the seven bodies out of Kaitov's dacha. At the time of reporting, a group of investigators from the Office of Russia's Prosecutor General, the slain businessmen's relatives, and local legislators were visiting the site adjoining the mine. The group murder that stunned the small Karachai-Cherkessia occurred on the night from October 10 to October 11 Protesters Storm Govt Building in Russian Caucasus Republic, President Flees Created: 09.11.2004 14:10 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 15:37 MSK, MosNews About 5,000 demonstrators in the North Caucasus town of Cherkessk have stormed the government building protesting the killings of seven businessmen that have been linked to relatives of the president. The crowd demanded to see the republic's president Mustafa Batdiyev. Seven policemen have been injured in clashes with the demonstrators, who have taken over the entire first floor of the building, the Russian Information Agency Novosti reported. Riot police have surrounded the building, but many of the demonstrators are refusing to leave and have barricaded themselves inside the office of the president. It is the second time locals have denounced the leadership of the North Caucasus region so vehemently following the mysterious deaths on Oct. 11. Once inside the building, the demonstrators learned that Batdiyev had once again refused to speak with them and fled through a back door, the Itar-Tass news agency reported. Earlier, an official from the prosecutor's office, Boris Karnaukhov, met with the demonstrators to assure them that 15 people had already been arrested in connection with the killings, and that progress was being made in the investigation, the Interfax news agency reported. Seven shareholders of the Kavkazcement concern disappeared on the night of Oct. 11. The dead included a local parliamentarian. According to a leading version of the events, they were killed on the territory of the summer residence of the president's son-in-law, Ali Kaitov, who was also chairman of the board at the company. Several days later, relatives and friends stormed the government building and demanded the dismissal of the top regional administrative heads. Nov 9 2004 5:38PM 64 residents of Chechnya kidnapped in September, October MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) - Sixty-four residents of Chechnya were kidnapped or went missing in Chechnya in September and October, 2004, Rudnik Dudayev, secretary of the Chechen Security Council, told Interfax by telephone on Tuesday. "Thirty residents were kidnapped in September and 34 in October. Most of the kidnappings were organized by criminal groups," Dudayev said. He said the Chechen authorities are doing everything possible to prevent kidnappings. Chechen Times Amnesty International: report of persecution of human rights defenders in Chechnya As the European Union prepares for its summit in The Hague with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, Amnesty International is releasing detailed testimonies showing that victims of human rights violations in Chechnya who complain to European institutions have been killed or "disappeared". Amnesty International's report states that human rights defenders in Chechnya have been killed and others have been tortured. Many more have been harassed or intimidated. Amnesty International says there is evidence that human rights activists have been targeted by agents of the state in order to silence them. In particular, the Amnesty International report details how Chechens who have sought redress in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg for violations of their rights have been the subject of reprisals ranging from harassment and threats, to the killing of applicants themselves or their close relatives. «The European Union cannot ignore the worsening situation for those who speak out about human rights abuses in Russia, especially when they relate directly to a sister institution — the Council of Europe's own European Court of Human Rights," Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office said. «The EU is not only putting its own credibility on the line if it fails, finally, to engage the Russian Federation on human rights, but also the core institution of human rights protection in Europe," he said. The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly recently concluded that the continued death toll and human suffering in the Chechen Republic was of "great concern to the common values" of the organization. The Assembly also addressed EU Member States in its call not to "remain inactive when people are dying every day in Chechnya and neighboring Republics through terrorist attacks, snipers, land mines, abuse of force by security services and acts of organized crime". «This week's EU-Russia Summit is to address the issue of creating a 'common space of freedom, security and justice' between the EU and Russia," said Dick Oosting. «Given the increasing threats to human rights protection in Russia, the EU must adopt a fresh approach. It is not just Russia's sensitivities, but the EU's concerns that should set the tone of the talks." «The 'common space' will remain a vacuum unless the EU lays down non- negotiable principles from the start — that 'freedom' means human rights defenders are free to stand up for the rights of others, 'security' means journalists and lawyers can speak their mind without being harassed or attacked, and 'justice' means that victims of human rights violations can freely seek and find redress in courts of law," Dick Oosting said. Throughout the ongoing conflict in Chechnya, the Russian authorities have attempted to restrict information about the human rights situation there. Human rights organizations, activists, lawyers, independent journalists and individuals continue to play a crucial role in documenting human rights abuses. One applicant to the European Court of Human Rights appealing over the «disappearance» of his son during a military raid has had his other son killed after lodging his case. Another man appealing over the «disappearance» of his brother, has himself «disappeared» since lodging his case with the Court. Amnesty International's report also details how the family of human rights activist Luisa Betergiraeva, who was shot dead in 2001, continues to be harassed. The report states: «In early July 2004 in a raid on their house by Russian federal forces, one of Luisa's sons, Zelimkhan Betergiraev, 28, was detained and has since 'disappeared.'" In a second raid on 20 July, when relatives in the house asked why they were being beaten by the soldiers, they were told: «So that you complain less! All of Europe knows already about you!» In addition, harassment of activists has sometimes included threats by police to plant evidence in a person's house to suggest they have been involved in "terrorism". In line with the EU's Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by EU Foreign Ministers in June 2004 Amnesty International calls on the EU to: * Support the legitimate work of human rights defenders in the North Caucasus as suggested in the EU guidelines; * Raise its concern about attacks on human rights defenders in its dialogue with the Russian Federation, including at the forthcoming summit with President Putin; * Insist on the initiation without delay of independent and thorough investigations into all allegations of reprisals against any person in relation to applications filed with the European Court of Human Rights and the torture, killings and «disappearances» of human rights defenders and activists. The findings of such investigations should be made public and perpetrators brought to justice. Press release Chechen Human Rights Activists Killed, Tortured — Amnesty International Created: 09.11.2004 16:47 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:48 MSK, MosNews Human rights activists in Chechnya have been killed or tortured after lodging their cases, Amnesty International has reported. "The European Union cannot ignore the worsening situation for those who speak out about human rights abuses in Russia, especially when they relate directly to a sister institution — the Council of Europe's own European Court of Human Rights," Dick Oosting, Director of Amnesty International's EU Office said. For instance, an applicant to the Court appealing over the disappearance of his son during a military raid has had his other son killed after lodging his case, the organization reported on its website. Another man appealing over the disappearance of his brother, has himself "disappeared". The report also details how the family of human rights activist Luisa Betergirayeva, who was shot dead in 2001, continues to be harassed. The report states: "In early July 2004 in a raid on their house by Russian federal forces, one of Luisa's sons, Zelimkhan Betergirayev, 28, was detained and has since 'disappeared'." In a second raid on July 20, when relatives in the house asked why they were being beaten by the soldiers, they were told: "So that you complain less! All of Europe knows about you already!" In addition, harassment of activists has sometimes included threats by police to plant evidence in a person's house to suggest they have been involved in "terrorism". The report was made on the eve of the EU-Russia summit in The Hague. "This week's EU-Russia Summit is to address the issue of creating a 'common space of freedom, security and justice' between the EU and Russia," Oosting said. "Given the increasing threats to human rights protection in Russia, the EU must adopt a fresh approach. It is not just Russia's sensitivities, but the EU's concerns that should set the tone of the talks." The organizations calls on the EU to support the legitimate work of human rights defenders in the North Caucasus as suggested in the EU guidelines; raise its concern about attacks on human rights defenders in its dialogue with the Russia Federation, including at the forthcoming summit; insist on the initiation without delay of independent and thorough investigations into all allegations of reprisals against any person in relation to applications filed with the European Court of Human Rights and the torture, killings and "disappearances" of human rights activists. |