| News Release Issued by the
International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI INDEX: EUR 46/036/2004 23 June 2004 Russian Federation/Chechen Republic: The "normalization" of a human rights crisis "If my son committed a crime, bring him to justice, but tell me where he is." In spite of claims to the contrary by Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen officials the situation in the Chechen Republic is far from normal. The continuing conflict in Chechnya, characterized by violence and a wide range of systematic human rights abuses, is spilling over into neighbouring Ingushetia, Amnesty International said today as it launched its report "Russian Federation: Chechen Republic - "Normalization" in whose eyes?" Few families in the war-torn North Caucasus Republic have been left unaffected by human rights abuses after five years of continuing armed conflict. "Russian federal and security forces continue to carry out human rights violations such as extrajudicial executions, 'disappearances', arbitrary detentions, ill-treatment and torture, including rape, with impunity," Amnesty International said. "Chechen armed opposition groups have targeted civilian members of the Moscow-backed Chechen administration and it has been alleged that they are responsible for a number of bombings, which have caused indiscriminate harm to civilians." In Chechnya, civilians are being held in incommunicado detention in undisclosed locations after being detained by Russian federal and security forces. No information regarding their whereabouts and well-being is being given to their families. Women have increasingly been targeted -- a number of women described to Amnesty International's representatives how they were tortured, including with electric shocks, and raped in detention. Peaceful demonstrators have been beaten and arbitrarily detained. Impunity persists -- very few perpetrators have been brought to justice for human rights violations. People who have petitioned the European Court of Human Rights appear to be particularly targeted by the authorities. They have been threatened and intimidated, in some cases their relatives have "disappeared" or been killed. A number of victims told Amnesty International's delegates that they fear for their lives and that they were explicitly warned by the federal forces and the pro-Moscow Chechen special security forces, under the command of Ramzan Kadyrov, that they and their families would be killed if they filed a complaint about their treatment or petition the European Court of Human Rights. Today, fewer and fewer people are willing to speak out against the perpetrators -- a climate of fear and mistrust is prevalent. Human rights abuses against civilians, many of which constitute war crimes, continue to be committed with impunity, as very few perpetrators are ever identified and brought to justice. "Such abuses, which previously occurred almost exclusively in Chechnya, are increasingly spreading across the border to neighbouring Ingushetia," the organization said. A wave of "disappearances" has spread throughout Ingushetia in recent months. Amnesty International has received information that at least 34 people have been "disappeared" between September 2003 and the end of March 2004. A number of these people have been outspoken about human rights violations in Ingushetia or are prominent members of the community. Participants in peaceful demonstrations in Ingushetia against such human rights violations are apparently targeted by the authorities; they have been subjected to ill-treatment and arbitrary detention. The last tent camp in Ingushetia housing people fleeing the conflict in Chechnya was closed on 10 June. The refugees who remain in temporary accommodation or spontaneous settlements are being pressured by federal and local authorities to return to the Chechen Republic. "We will stay here. As long as they can't guarantee our security, we won't go back (to Chechnya). If there is no war, why don't they withdraw the troops? Everybody would like to go home, but it is too dangerous," a father of five told Amnesty International. The report is based on the findings of an Amnesty International delegation that travelled to Ingushetia in March/April 2004 as well as ongoing research by the International Secretariat in London. In addition, the organization's delegates have just returned from a second visit to Ingushetia where they collected testimonies from victims of human rights violations committed in both Chechnya and Ingushetia. "More than a month after the killing of the President of the Chechen Republic, Akhmad Kadyrov, and two months before presidential elections there, violence and human rights violations continue, leaving civilians more and more desperate and with little hope for a peaceful future," the organization said. Amnesty International is particularly concerned that Ramzan Kadyrov, First Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya and the son of the late President Akhmad Kadyrov, is reported to have stated recently that he wants to punish relatives of alleged fighters. According to reports he said "... they [the fighters] are allowed to kill our relatives, fathers and brothers and we are not. This should not be the case." "Such official statements encourage human rights violations and reinforce the climate of impunity for such violations," Amnesty International said. As a signatory to a number of international human rights treaties, the Russian Federation is obliged to respect and protect the human rights of all people within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction without discrimination. Its failure to do so during the conflict in Chechnya has more often than not produced inadequate responses from governments and from some inter-governmental bodies. "The international community must intensify its scrutiny of the situation and put pressure on the Russian Federation to live up to its international human rights obligations," Amnesty International said. "It is imperative that the human rights crisis in the North Caucasus is placed higher on the international agenda." More information: For the full report "Russian Federation: Chechen Republic - "Normalization" in whose eye" visit: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwqaa7RJnbeuxZvb/ Russian Federation: Recommendations to the Russian government and Chechen armed opposition groups: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwqaa7RJobeuxZvb/ Russian Federation: Recommendations to second governments and the Council of Europe: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwqaa7RJpbeuxZvb/ News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI INDEX: EUR 46/029/2004 23 June 2004 Russian Federation: The case of Kheda Kungaeva On the night of 26 March 2000, Colonel Yuri Budanov, together with soldiers from his Russian Federal forces unit, went to Kheda Kungaeva's house in the village of Tangi-Chu in Chechnya and abducted her. Colonel Budanov stated that he suspected Kheda Kungaeva of possessing information about Chechen fighters and took her to his tent for interrogation. By his own admission, supported by a post-mortem examination, Colonel Budanov strangled Kheda Kungaeva to death. The same post-mortem, examined by Amnesty International and carried out by a Ministry of Defence pathologist, concluded that Kheda Kungaeva had been raped shortly before her death. No one has been charged with raping Kheda Kungaeva. On 30 March 2000 Colonel Budanov was arrested. His trial, which began in February 2001, was adjourned several times for psychiatric assessments. It was widely reported that in the course of the investigation Colonel Budanov had admitted killing Kheda Kungaeva, but had stated that he strangled her during interrogation in a state of "temporary insanity". Earlier psychiatric assessments found him sane and responsible for his actions. The last one was carried out at the court's request by the state-run Serbsky Institute, heavily criticized in Soviet times for its role in the political abuse of psychiatry, and supported Colonel Budanov's claim of "temporary insanity". On 31 December 2002, the North Caucasus Military Court ruled that Yuri Budanov was not criminally responsible for the murder and ordered that he be transferred to a psychiatric hospital. Russian human rights organizations criticized the court ruling saying the trial was neither 'honest nor just'. After an appeal a new trial was opened and on 25 July 2003 Colonel Yuri Budanov was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Kheda Kungaeva and sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment. Colonel Budanov is the highest ranking member of the Russian security forces in Chechnya to be put on trial for serious crimes against civilians in Chechnya. News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI INDEX: EUR 46/037/2004 22 June 2004 Russian Federation: Coordinated attacks in Ingushetia – life far from normal Yesterday's coordinated violent attacks reportedly by armed Chechen fighters in Ingushetia - the largest to have taken place there to date - have heightened Amnesty International's concerns that the disregard for human rights which characterize the continuing conflict in the Chechen Republic are spilling over to the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia. According to preliminary reports the attacks have left some 46 people dead, including 18 law-enforcement officials and 28 civilians, including the acting Ingush Interior Minister Abukar Kostoiev. Some reports have indicated that some 60 people were wounded. At around 11.00pm on 21 June, up to 200 Chechen fighters are reported to have used automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades to target various police and government targets in Ingushetia in coordinated attacks. The main Ministry of Interior building in Nazran, police stations in Nazran and Karabulak, an OMON unit (riot police) and various checkpoints in Karabulak and the village of Sleptsovskaia were reportedly among the targets. The acting Interior Minister of Ingushetia - Abukar Kostoiev - was reportedly killed, along with the Procurator of Nazran, another senior procuracy official and a senior police chief. According to an Ingush security services official, Chechen fighters also shot at ambulances and civilian vehicles, resulting in the killing of a pregnant Ingush woman. Amnesty International reiterates its call on all sides to the ongoing conflict to respect international humanitarian and human rights law. International humanitarian law absolutely prohibits direct attacks on civilians; attacks that do not attempt to distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian objects and attacks that, although aimed at a legitimate military target, have a disproportionate impact on civilians or civilian objects. Reprisals against civilians or civilian objects are also prohibited. The organization calls for prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law and for perpetrators to be brought to justice in the course of proceedings which meet international fair trial standards. As Amnesty International highlights in its report entitled "Russian Federation: Chechen Republic - 'Normalization' in whose eyes?" ( http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwsaa7RJ7beuxZvb/ ), to be launched tomorrow in both Strasbourg, France, where the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is currently meeting, and in Moscow, the situation in the Chechen Republic has far from "normalized". Abuses which have so far characterized the ongoing conflict in Chechnya are now occurring with alarming regularity in neighbouring Ingushetia. The organization also calls on the international community to ensure that the conflict in and around Chechnya is placed higher on the international agenda. Based on its experience in other parts of the world, Amnesty International considers that a lasting resolution of the conflict must be based on measures that ensure respect and protection of the human rights of all persons in the region without discrimination. The victims of yesterday's attacks and the other victims of the conflict, that has raged over the last five years, deserve no less. Teacher 'disappears' in Ingushetia, take action! Visit http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwsaa7RJ8beuxZvb/ News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI INDEX: EUR 46/038/2004 22 June 2004 Russian Federation: Brutal killing of human rights defender Nikolai Girenko Nikolai Girenko -- prominent human rights defender, Professor of Ethnology and expert on racism and discrimination in the Russian Federation -- was shot dead on 19 June 2004 in his home in St Petersburg. He was aged 64. According to reports, Nikolai Girenko was approaching the front door of his apartment to answer the doorbell when he was reportedly shot through the door with a shotgun. Nikolai Girenko was well-known and widely respected for his work and research on racism and discrimination in the Russian Federation. He was Head of the Minority Rights Commission at the St Petersburg Scientific Union and had conducted several studies for Moscow and St Petersburg authorities on neo-Nazi and skinhead groups in the Russian Federation and had repeatedly warned that such groups were on the rise. Nikolai Girenko made expert contributions to a number of high-profile investigations and court cases concerning alleged racially-motivated attacks and was renowned as the foremost expert on this issue within the Russian Federation. Academic colleagues and fellow human rights defenders believe his murder was connected with his human rights activity, in particular in light of his anti-racism campaigning and work on the "skinhead" movement. According to reports, Nikolai Girenko and many of the academics working alongside him on research into racism regularly received threats. Andrei Zhukov -- Deputy St Petersburg Prosecutor -- is reported to have said that investigators also believe that his work as a researcher and expert witness in racism trials and investigations is the most likely motive for his murder. However, he also reportedly stated that the killing might have been motivated by hooliganism -- a claim frequently made by police in connection with alleged race hate attacks. Amnesty International calls for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Nikolai Girenko and for perpetrators to be brought to justice in the course of proceedings which meet international fair trial standards. Allegations that the killing was connected to the human rights activity of Nikolai Girenko in combating racism and discrimination should also be thoroughly and impartially investigated. The organization also calls upon the authorities to take active measures to protect human rights defenders in line with their international obligations and in particular, the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders (Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1998) Background Amnesty International is concerned about the rise in racism, and about a recent violent spate of racially-motivated attacks in the Russian Federation. In particular, skinheads have carried out numerous racially-motivated murders in St Petersburg in the past year, including those of a six-year-old Roma girl in September 2003 and a nine-year-old Tajik girl in February 2004. The organization calls upon the Russian authorities to take urgent measures to combat racism and discrimination, protect minorities from race hate crimes, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Under national and international law, all people living in the Russian Federation are guaranteed equality and protection from discrimination. Despite this, research conducted by Amnesty International has shown that the authorities and institutions charged with upholding human rights are often acquiescent in racially-motivated attacks and discriminatory treatment. The organization is concerned that law enforcement agencies frequently dismiss racist attacks as the actions of hooligans, rather than thoroughly and impartially investigating allegations of racial motivation. On 29 April 2004, anti-racism activist Aleksei Kozlov of the Youth Human Rights Movement in Voronezh was reportedly attacked in Voronezh city centre by two skinheads allegedly shouting "Beat the chief anti-fascist". Police in Voronezh have detained the suspected attackers who have been charged with "hooliganism." In February 2004 a medical student from Guinea-Bissau -- Amaru Antonio Lima -- was murdered in Voronezh in an alleged racially-motivated attack. The city is know as a centre for "skinhead" activity and local NGOs report that racist attacks regularly take place near student hostels in the town. Visit Amnesty International's Russian language website at http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwxaa7RKcbeuxZvb/ Russian Federation in the Annual Report 2004: http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maacnwxaa7RKcbeuxZvb/ ***************************************************************** You may repost this message onto other sources provided the main text is not altered in any way and both the header crediting Amnesty International and this footer remain intact. Only the list subscription message may be removed. ***************************************************************** Past and current Amnesty news services can be found at <http://www.amnesty.org/news/>. Visit <http://www.amnesty.org> for information about Amnesty International and for other AI publications. Contact amnestyis@amnesty.org if you need to get in touch with the International Secretariat of Amnesty International. Privacy policy <http://web.amnesty.org/pages/aboutai-privacy-eng> June 18th 2004 · Prague Watchdog / Timur Aliyev Human rights activists establish Chechen Civil Society Forum (2nd version) (adds comment by Swiss GfbV's head Bigler in paragraph 6) Timur Aliyev, North Caucasus - Representatives of Chechen non-governmental and human rights organizations recently gathered in Nazran in preparations for the Chechen Civil Society Forum. On June 9, around 30 NGO workers from Chechnya met with representatives from the Swiss and German sections of the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) and discussed what needed to be done in preparation for the coming Forum. Zainab Gashayeva, from the Chechen organization Ekho vojny and one of the meeting organizers, said that the final Forum conference would take place in September next year. “But the work of the Forum will begin this September, with implementation of its programs,” she said. The Forum will include an opportunity for partnerships between Chechen NGO representatives and Swiss public figures and human rights activists, explained Sarah Reinke from GfbV, another meeting organizer. “The creation of the Forum was necessary to give Chechens the opportunity to represent Chechnya's position in Europe. The possibility for Ichkerians to travel in Europe is often limited, so our task is to support those human rights activists who are already doing the work, by giving them the opportunity to travel to Europe,” said Reinke. According to her, each activist will be protected by European politicians. However, Hanspeter Bigler, the head of the Swiss section of GfbV, denied that the Forum had won support from Swiss officials. The Forum is being established by cooperation between civil society organizations in Chechnya, Germany and Switzerland, while the authorities are not involved in it, he explained to Prague Watchdog. “With so little information about Chechnya available at the moment, it is important that we break down the wall of propaganda,” Reinke stressed. The work of the Forum will head in two directions: towards Europe and Chechnya, where various social projects will be implemented with the aim of developing a civil society in the republic, Reinke said. The Society for Threatened Peoples (Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker) is a non-profit organisation that was established to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples. Its German and Swiss sections have been actively involved in protecting human rights in Chechnya since 1999, when the second war began. Prague Watchdog staff contributed to this report. |