| Chechens taking Russia to
court Thursday, 14 October, 2004, 07:17 GMT 08:17 UK By Steve Rosenberg BBC Moscow correspondent A decade of war has devastated much of the Chechen capital Grozny The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has begun hearings into alleged human rights abuses by the Russian military in Chechnya. It is the first time the court has agreed to hear cases brought by Chechen civilians against Russia. It is nearly five years since Russian troops moved back into Chechnya, at the start of what Moscow described as an operation to crush terrorists. Within weeks, though, there were widespread reports of abuses. The lawsuits relate to incidents dating back to 1999 and 2000, when the fighting was at its fiercest. 'Tortured and killed' In the first case, plaintiffs say their relatives were tortured by federal forces and then killed as troops went house-to-house in search of rebel fighters. In the two other lawsuits, the Russian military stands accused of killing civilians in aerial bombing raids. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say they hope the hearings will draw attention to rampant human rights abuses in Chechnya. The Russian authorities concede that abuses have been committed, but they maintain that offenders are being punished, and that since the start of the conflict the human rights situation in Chechnya has improved. European Court Starts Hearing Chechen Lawsuit Against Russian Government Created: 14.10.2004 13:47 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:28 MSK, MosNews The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg started examining the case of six Chechen families against the Russian government on Thursday. The families accuse the government of breaching their right to life and of treating them inhumanely. The hearing will be the first to be formally considered in Strasbourg from among more than 100 cases alleging abuse by the Russian military in Chechnya, Reuters reports. The plaintiffs are Magomed Khashiyev, Roza Akayeva, Medka Isayeva, Zina Yusupova, Libkan Bazayeva, and Zara Isayeva. They claim that they or their relatives suffered as a result of illegal activities by the Russian army. Khashiyev's brother and sister were killed in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 2000, as well as Akayeva's two sons and brother Russian Information Agency Novosti reported. Medka Isayeva and Yusupova were wounded during a bombardment in Grozny in 1999; Isayeva's two children and daughter-in-law were killed; Bazayeva lost property that was in car that was bombed and Zara Isayeva lost her son and three nieces in shooting at the Chechen village of Katyr-Yurt in 2000. The activities of the Russian government are qualified in the documents presented to the court as violations of: the right to life, a ban on torture and cruel treatment, the right for a fair trial, and property rights, registered in the European Convention of Human Rights. Previous rulings by Russian courts did not satisfy the plaintiffs. Today's hearings will be relatively brief, with each side allowed to make short oral presentations. The court, which is dogged by a substantial backlog of cases, is expected to release its findings in 2005. Typically, the ECHR does not impose heavy financial penalties — and if the cases were to succeed, moral damages and compensation for lost property and income would probably run, at most, to tens of thousands of euros, Reuters reported. Friday, October 15, 2004. Page 3. Strasbourg Hears 6 Chechnya Cases The Associated Press Cedric Joubert / AP Photo: From left, Roza Akayeva, Magomed Khashiyev and Libkan Bazayeva waiting before a hearing Thursday at the court in Strasbourg. BRUSSELS — Europe's top human rights court on Thursday heard the first cases involving alleged abuses by Russian military forces of six civilians who lived in Chechnya. Lawyers for the six civilians — five of whom were in the packed courtroom — told a seven-judge panel at the European Court of Human Rights that Russian authorities had violated their clients' rights under the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Russia, as member of the 45-nation Council of Europe, is bound to uphold that convention. Russia's representative at the court, Pavel Laptev, expressed hope that the case would not be "politicized." "We view this case as a kind of test for the European Court: Will it comply with all principles of the European Convention and, most important, will it avoid double standards in its verdict?" he said, Interfax reported. Bill Bowring, a human rights lawyer and professor at London Metropolitan University who is representing the civilians, was confident of a positive verdict. "The Russian investigations have come to nothing even four years on," he said. "We were saying that the use of very heavy weapons [against civilians] was way beyond conceivably justified." The six are seeking 10,000 to 30,000 euros ($12,300 to $37,000) in moral damages and separate compensation for lost property and income at the court, which is based in Strasbourg, France. They hope to draw international attention to widespread human rights abuses of civilians during the military campaigns in Chechnya, lawyers said. "This will be quite important recognition by a very authoritative international body that at least some operations in the course of the military conflict have been conducted in violation of current international law," Kirill Koroteyev, a lawyer for the victims, said ahead of Thursday's hearing. Lawyers for the first two plaintiffs, Magomed Khashiyev and Roza Akayeva, argued that their relatives were tortured and killed in 2000 during so-called sweep operations when federal forces searched households for suspected rebels. They claim the convention's articles on the right to life, the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to an effective legal remedy were violated. A second case involves Medka Isayeva, Zina Yusupova and Libkan Bazayeva, who claim their relatives were killed and their property destroyed in October 1999 by military planes. The incident took place on Oct. 29 when thousands of civilians streamed from Chechnya to neighboring Ingushetia, having been promised a safe corridor out by authorities. However, after they found the border was closed and were turned back, they were shelled by military planes, which left dozens killed and wounded. Russian officials later claimed they were targeting a rebel truck, the victims' lawyers said. The court will also consider the case of Zara Isayeva, who says her son and three nieces were killed when the Russian military bombed the village of Katyr-Yurt in February 2000 in an attempt to destroy rebels. Her lawyers argued her right to life and right to protection of property were violated, as well as her right to effective legal action. Thursday's hearing lasted about 2 1/2 hours. A ruling is not expected for several months, court officials said. New Chechen President Alu Alkhanov has reappointed Sergei Abramov as the region's prime minister, Interfax reported Thursday. European Court Starts Hearing Chechen Lawsuit Against Russian Government Created: 14.10.2004 13:47 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:28 MSK, MosNews The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg started examining the case of six Chechen families against the Russian government on Thursday. The families accuse the government of breaching their right to life and of treating them inhumanely. The hearing will be the first to be formally considered in Strasbourg from among more than 100 cases alleging abuse by the Russian military in Chechnya, Reuters reports. The plaintiffs are Magomed Khashiyev, Roza Akayeva, Medka Isayeva, Zina Yusupova, Libkan Bazayeva, and Zara Isayeva. They claim that they or their relatives suffered as a result of illegal activities by the Russian army. Khashiyev's brother and sister were killed in the Chechen capital of Grozny in 2000, as well as Akayeva's two sons and brother Russian Information Agency Novosti reported. Medka Isayeva and Yusupova were wounded during a bombardment in Grozny in 1999; Isayeva's two children and daughter-in-law were killed; Bazayeva lost property that was in car that was bombed and Zara Isayeva lost her son and three nieces in shooting at the Chechen village of Katyr-Yurt in 2000. The activities of the Russian government are qualified in the documents presented to the court as violations of: the right to life, a ban on torture and cruel treatment, the right for a fair trial, and property rights, registered in the European Convention of Human Rights. Previous rulings by Russian courts did not satisfy the plaintiffs. Today's hearings will be relatively brief, with each side allowed to make short oral presentations. The court, which is dogged by a substantial backlog of cases, is expected to release its findings in 2005. Typically, the ECHR does not impose heavy financial penalties — and if the cases were to succeed, moral damages and compensation for lost property and income would probably run, at most, to tens of thousands of euros, Reuters reported. |