20.04.2004MosNews

On Tuesday the Moscow City Court rejected a suit filed by a citizen ofthe Netherlands who lost his wife in the 2002 Dubrovka hostage crisis.The court upheld the decision of the lower instance court, which hadearlier rejected the suit.

Oleg Zhirov lost his spouse in the Dubrovka hostage crisis. In hislawsuit, he sought compensation of material damages from the RussianFinance Ministry. He wants monthly payments of 2,000 euros to be made tohis children until they come of age.

“The amount of compensation was calculated based on the income of thelate woman, who had worked for a US company,” Zhirov’s lawyer, IgorTrunov, has said. Trunov said that his client also wanted 720,000 eurosin compensation for “loss of profit” — the potential income of his deadspouse. He also wants the Finance Ministry to compensate the 30,000euros spent on the funeral.

“The decision of the Moscow City Court cannot be explained either fromthe juridical point of view, nor from the grounds of simple logic,”Trunov told MosNews on Tuesday.

“There is one moment there which certainly cannot be ignored — in allcases of such a category, the prosecutor’s participation is obligatory.But the prosecutor did not participate in this case. The court hasoverlooked even this,” the lawyer said. “Apparently, there is somethingbehind the verdict, which has nothing to do with logic, law or justice,”he added.

“Today’s decision effectively cancels the Criminal Code’s 17th articleon fighting terrorism in regard to foreign citizens. The court hasrefused Zhirov compensation of moral damages and today it did the samewith the material damages suit. Why was it so? It is unclear. The manhas lost his wife and his child inhaled so much gas he is still ill,”Trunov said.

“In reality, the court canceled the legal norm concerning foreigncitizens. Several cases from Ukrainian citizens are awaiting their turn,but we believe that there is little hope there. Of course, we willappeal the decision in higher courts, but it looks like it will bring noresults,” he said.

In September 2003 the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow fulfilled anumber of claims filed by Russian citizens who sought compensation formaterial damages suffered in the Dubrovka hostage crisis.

Chechen terrorists took hundreds of people hostage in Moscow’s Dubrovkatheatre on October 23, 2002. The crisis resulted in the death of 129theater-goers, most of whom died as Russian commandos pumped narcoticgas inside the building to disable the terrorists.

Chechnya Blames Russia for Civilian Deaths Ahead of UN Visit

Created: 20.04.2004 17:51 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 18:19 MSK,

MosNews

Chechnya's Russia-backed Security Council is holding Russian Federal Forces responsible for theartillery strike April 8 that killed six civilians — a woman and her young children — in theRigahoi region of the war-torn republic, Interfax reported.

"We have photographs giving evidence to the involvement of [Russian] troops," Security Councilsecretary Rudnik Dudayev told Interfax. "We have informed the command of the federal troops of oursuspicions."

The secretary added that while federal forces have denied their involvement, the Chechen side haswitnesses and those injured in the attack. "We don't believe federal troops anymore," he said,adding that the Security Council has formed its own commission to investigate the incident.

Dudayev also told the news agency that the Russian-backed president of the republic Akhmad Kadyrovopenly declared Russian troops responsible during a meeting of the Interior Ministry.

Russia's regional operative staff "has promised that it will sort everything out," the news agencyquoted Dudayev as saying, "but so far we are unable to get any information on who was in command ofthe flights" that day.

Meanwhile, a UN delegation arrived in Chechnya Tuesday to monitor the humanitarian situation in therepublic, the official Itar-Tass report news agency reported, citing Chechnya's presidentialspokesman.

The delegation is going to discuss assistance in restoring Chechnya's public facilities. Later inthe day, the group will meet with President Akhmad Kadyrov.

The spokesman said the eight-member delegation includes a representative of the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees Office, Kasidis Rochancorn, and Canada's Ambassador to Russia ChristopherWestdal.

UN delegation visiting Chechnya

MOSCOW, April 20 (Itar-Tass) - A UN delegation arrived in Chechnya onTuesday to see the humanitarian situation in the republic, the chief ofthe Chechen president’s press service, Abdulbek Vakhayev, td Itar-Tass.

He said the eight-member delegation includes a representative of the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees Office, Kasidis Rochancorn, and Canada’sAmbassador to Russia Christopher Westdal.

The delegation is going to discuss assistance to the restoration ofChechnya’s social facilities.

The members of the delegations have visited a centre accommodatingpeople whose houses were damaged by the last year’s floods, a centre ofpsychological rehabilitation and several schools.

The delegation will meet President Akhmad Kadyrov later in the day.

Vakhayev said two million dollars had been issue through the UN toChechnya since the beginning of this year for restoration programmes.

“We welcome any help, accept it with gratitude, and are ready to helpthe development of such cooperation in every way” he said.

“We would want that the foreign guest make sure that Chechnya is firmlyon a footing of peaceful building at present and that we are open tohumanitarian cooperation,” he said.

In November 2003, the UN and 20 non-governmental organizations,including the World Health Organization, the World Food Program and theOffice of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called on the worldcommunity to issue to Chechnya 62 million dollars in aid this year.

Half of the funds is to go into a food programme for residents ofChechnya and refugees and another 18 million into housing, education andhealth sectors.

UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egelund first visitedChechnya in January 2004.

He then assured that the UN is interested in activation of cooperationwith Russia and would send a major part of the humanitarian aid toChechnya.

Apr. 20, 2004

Activists Say Chechnya Still Unsafe

By Maria Danilova The Associated Press Human rights activists on Tuesday dismissed the Kremlin'sclaim that Chechnya is stabilizing and accused the authorities of pressuring Chechen refugees toreturn despite the danger to their lives.

Alexander Cherkasov of the Memorial human rights center said a Chechen woman and five of herchildren were killed in Chechnya's Vedeno district on April 8 in a federal air raid. Militaryofficials have denied that, while prosecutors said the family died in a land- mine explosion,Cherkasov told reporters.

He played a videotape showing the bodies of Maydat Damayeva and her children, which appeared tohave been crushed by debris of their home. The footage also showed a big crater next to thefamily's house, which Cherkasov said had been left by an aircraft weapon, some fragments of whichwere found at the site. "A genuine investigation would have determined the extent of the pilot'sguilt, but they are even denying the very fact of the raid," Cherkasov said.

Svetlana Gannushkina, a Memorial activist and a member of President Vladimir Putin's commission onhuman rights, said people in Chechnya are facing permanent risk of being abducted.

She told of a Chechen family who fled to Ingushetia after they had to pay a $2,600 ransom for theirthree sons, who had been abducted by Moscow-backed local security forces. "Given this situation itis hard to believe that they [Chechen refugees] are returning there voluntarily," Gannushkina said.

According to Gannushkina, there are currently 1,600 Chechens living in the sole refugee tent-campremaining in the neighboring region of Ingushetia. Over 40,000 refugees are estimated to live thereoutside the camps on their own.

While the authorities refrain from physically forcing out the refugees, they are threatening toburn down or bulldoze their tents and also offering the 'carrot' of giving them monetarycompensation, Gannushkina said.

She said that so far only some 1,500 families have started to receive the government's compensationof up to 350,000 rubles ($12,000), but none of the people she talked to have received it in full,the rest apparently being siphoned by local officials