Chechen National Rescue Committee accuses Russian authorities of forcing Chechen refugees out

The regional public movement Chechen National Rescue Committee addressed an appeal to the leadership of the United Nations, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Union, and the European Parliament on March 10.

"The aspiration of Moscow and Moscow-backed authorities on the territory of the Chechen Republic to do away with the main headache - the problem of existence of tent camps on the territory of the Republic of Ingushetia where Chechen refugees keep on living - is not surprising. The fact of their presence here disproves any statements that stabilization in the Chechen Republic has begun; it is the main argument confirming that the Russian-Chechen armed conflict is not over," reads the statement.

"Establishing, unfortunately, the inability of the international community to stop the war and thereby end the tragedy of the Chechen people, the Chechen National Rescue Committee calls upon the international community once again to stop at least high-handedness towards Chechen refugees. Some special body could be a guarantee when putting the idea into practice. It would watch the observance of rights of displaced persons from Chechnya in conformity with international conventions."

Source: Public organization "Chechen National Rescue Committee"

March 11th 2004 · Prague Watchdog / Ruslan Isayev

Refugees from Sputnik flatly refuse returning to Chechnya

Ruslan Isayev, North Caucasus, March 11 – Another deadline fordismantling the Sputnik refugee camp in Ingushetia expired today; butunsurprisingly, only 20 families left the camp.

Just as they’ve done in the past, when ordered to leave by a certaindeadline, most people ignored it and stayed put. And of those who didgo, some found accommodations in Ingushetia while others returned toChechnya.

Sputnik is considered to be the largest camp in Ingushetia. Severalyears ago it held 6,000-7,000 people; but as of March 10, only about onethousand residents are left.

The refugees, aware of the deteriorating situation, are unwilling todiscuss it with the press. However, Prague Watchdog's correspondent,after promising their names would be withheld, managed to talk with afew of them.

"It's very dangerous to give interviews here as you could suddenlydisappear during the night," a middle-aged woman explained.

The refugees insist they will not return home under any circumstances.The woman stated: "If they drive us away from here, which am sure canhappen, I'll take my family either to Ingushetia or Ossetia, or someother place. But definitely not to Chechnya...." Other residents of thecamp are of a similar opinion.

The reasons given for this reluctance to return to Chechnya are all thesame. "Before we were afraid of Russian soldiers, now the threat comesfrom local law enforcement units," the refugees said. They then citedexamples of detainees who were beaten and tortured by Chechens engagedin various law enforcement work.

The new Chechen powers-that-be shrewdly use a carrot and stick approach.First they threaten to bulldoze the refugees’ tents; then they promiseto give them money to compensate for their destroyed houses if theyagree to return home.

However, the refugees who do accept this offer are then denied thedocuments that detail the results of their case. Only after theydismantle their tents, pack up their belongings and leave the premises,are they able to get them.

Unfortunately many refugees take the bait and end up with fakedocuments, as our Prague Watchdog correspondent discovered in talkingwith them.

According to the Ingushetia Migration Service, since the beginning ofthe year about 5,000 people have returned to Chechnya from various"temporary settlement" places in Ingushetia.

Earlier, Bella and Alina, two camps near Ordzonikidzevskaya, weredismantled, and the two that still remain, Satsita and Sputnik, containmore than 4,000 people.

March 11th 2004 · Prague Watchdog / Ruslan Isayev

Unknown assailants abduct Chechen refugee in Ingushetia

Ruslan Isayev, North Caucasus – In the afternoon of March 10, armed menin military camouflage abducted 19-year-old Bislan Dokuyev from theSatsita refugee camp, located near Ordhzonikidzevskaya, Ingushetia.

The assailants arrived at the camp in three Zhiguli cars, draggedDokuyev out of the tent he shared with his parents, shoved him into oneof the cars and quickly drove off in the direction of Chechnya. Hismother, who tried to protect him, was hit with a gun butt.

A neighbor, Dagman Okhayeva, whose son was shot dead under strangecircumstances a month earlier in Karabulak by members of some specialservice, was so frightened by Dokuyev’s abduction that she suffered aheart attack; doctors fought almost all night trying to save her life.

So far Dokuyev’s relatives have been unable to find out who isresponsible for his abduction or where he was taken.

EurasiaNet, Thu 11 Mar 2004

The Case of the Disappearing Chechens Continues to Stir Controversy in Georgia

The disappearance and subsequent arrests of two Chechens – BeqkhanMulkoyev and Hussein Alkhanov – continues to be a source of controversyin Georgia. EurasiaNet correspondent Giga Chikhladze recently spoke toLia Mukhashavria, the director of the Georgian non-governmentalorganization Article 42 of the Constitution, about the Mulkoyev-Alkhanovcase.

Article 42 is an NGO dedicated to providing legal assistance to peoplein Georgia about possible civil rights violations. It has been involvedin the case of 13 Chechens, including Mulkoyev and Alkhanov, who werearrested by Georgian authorities in August 2002. Five of the 13 wereextradited to Russia in October of the same year. [For additionalinformation see related EurasiaNet story]. On February 6 of this year, aTbilisi court found Mulkoyev and Alkhanov innocent of entering Georgiaillegally.

The NGO lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights(ECHR), arguing that Georgia’s actions to detain and extradite theChechens contravened international law. In October 2003, the courtdecided to conduct a fact-finding mission in the case, formally titledAbdul-Wahhab Shamayev and 12 others versus Georgia and Russia. Athree-member ECHR fact-finding team arrived in Georgia on February 21,days after Mulkoyev and Alkhanov had been reported arrested by Russianauthorities.

Georgian leaders have denied any involvement in the Mulkoyev andAlkhanov arrests. Chechen community in Georgia representatives maintainthat Georgian authorities delivered the two Chechens to Russia.Mukhashavria, the Article 42 lawyer, believes the incident was designedto intimidate other Chechens into not fully cooperating with the ECHRfact-finding team. The text of Mukhashavria’s comments follows:

EurasiaNet: What is your impression about the circumstances surroundingthe arrests of Mulkoyev and Alkhanov?

Mukhashavria: Mulkoyev and Alkhanov would never have gone near the[Georgian-Russian] border. They were ready to go anywhere, exceptRussia. By the way, when the [Tbilisi] court ordered their release[February 6], they were free to leave Georgia, and this is what theywere going to do. However, I asked them to stay until February 21, thedate of the [ECHR] delegation’s arrival. Their appointments [with ECHRinvestigators] were scheduled for February 23. They decided to stayafter my request. They were very much afraid for a few days after theirrelease, and lawyers from our organization constantly escorted them.Then the fear faded away, and on February 16, at half-past ten in themorning they left their house and set out to the Ministry of Refugeesand Accomodation to register officially, and receive the status of therefugees. However, they never arrived at the Ministry…

EurasiaNet: Do you think Mulkoyev and Alkhanov will be convicted in Russia?

Mukhashavria: I guess so.

EurasiaNet: To what extent does the problem of Chechen refugeesinfluence relations between Georgia and Russia?

Mukhashavria: You cannot conduct a policy based upon unlawful decisions,whatever goal such a policy pursues. This is a 21st century, and youcannot violate the [1950] European Convention for the Protection ofHuman Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and go unpunished. Both states,Georgia as well as Russia, signed the convention, and assumed certainobligations.

EurasiaNet: But can the governments realistically be punished if theyare found to have violated the European Convention?

Mukhashavria: The fact of a violation of the convention, even if itconcerns one article or one point, could create an enormousinternational scandal. In addition, [violators] would have to payserious compensation to the victims.

EurasiaNet: Who would receive the compensation?

Mukhashavria: Our clients would, the Chechens. Moreover, I have to saythat this compensation could really damage the Georgian state budget.

EurasiaNet: So in trying to improve relations with Russia, Georgia risksnot only its reputation, but also risks opening a large hole in itsstate budget.

Mukhashavria: Yes. I think people who have now come to power in Georgiado not understand the situation. It is well known ... that severalEuropean states have declined requests to extradite Chechens to Russia.... However, instead of declining the requests through the court, they[Georgian officials] capture[d] Chechens right on the street anddeliver[d] them to Russia.

EurasiaNet: What is the mood of other the Chechens involved in theShamayev case before the ECHR?

Mukhashavria: They are very much afraid. They didn’t believe that theycould ever be handed over to Russia.

Copyright (c) 2004 Open Society Institute.

Raids at Mosques Condemned

Agence France Presse

MOSCOW, 11March 2004 — Several Russian religious leaders yesterdaydenounced raids that police conducted in mosques weeks before apresidential election in search of potential “terrorists”.

The president of the Islamic Council, Geidar Djemal, called the raids a“gross provocation” at a press conference attended by the nation’s topProtestant and Jewish representatives.

He was referring to raids that took place in several Moscow mosques onFeb.27 , during which police checked documents of people leaving Fridayprayers, detaining80 of them.

There have been several attacks — blamed by the government on rebelsfrom Russia’s war-torn republic of Chechnya — ahead of the March 14presidential election. The latest, in early February, killed 41 peopleon a packed Moscow subway train during morning rush hour.

Most of the people detained on Feb. 27 were later released but theInterior Ministry said some had been remanded in custody for beingsympathetic to “terrorism”.

“In one of the mosques, we detained people who are not necessarilyconnected with the blasts but exhibit ideological tendencies sympatheticto terrorism,” Interior Ministry spokesman Nikolai Pershutkin saidshortly after the raids.

Anatoly Pchelintsev, a human rights lawyer specializing in religiousissues, also denounced mounting attacks against Russia’s non-Orthodoxminorities.

“During the past four years the situation of religious minorities hasconsiderably worsened,” he said.

In particular, he said Protestants had been the subject of “brutal”identity checks in the provinces and that regional authorities haddeclined to open investigations after fires were started with Molotovcocktails at several Protestant churches.