| eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot
25/10/2004 No investigation into bombing of Chechen village On April 8, 2004, the Russian air force bombarded the mountain village of Rigakhoi, Chechnya's Vedono district. A young woman and her 5 children, the oldest of whom was 7, were killed by an air strike. At that time the republican leadership and command of federal forces in Chechnya promised to investigate the happening and punish people guilty of killing the Damayev family. But no one takes real steps to do it today, a relative of the victims said to the Caucasian Knot correspondent. According to the relative, the military prosecutor's office does not want to continue investigating this case in fact. "Six months have already passed since that tragic even, but the case hasn't moved from the dead point. Military prosecutors say pilots who bombed Rigakhoi that day have been identified, but there's no ground for instituting proceedings against them since they allegedly "acted in combat conditions". And they seem not to have established who gave the order to bomb the village. I think the military simply want the people guilty of Maidat and her children's death to avoid responsibility," he said. Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent Source: Caucasian Knot 27.10.2004 Brutal Murder on the Outskirts of Grozny CHECHNYA, Grozny. (Information Center ORCHD). On the night of October 23 in the village of Chernorech, located on the south-west area of Grozny, five people were burned alive. Among the victims was a 13 year-old adolescent. Local residents witnessing the incident saw how the attackers, who visited the village in a grey UAZ automobile, tied the five victims to a tree, lighted them on fire, and then quickly fled. On the night of October 23 in a state farm located in the Grozny rural region, unknown armed individuals in camoflouge, assumed to be from the federal forces, killed seven members of the Basnukaev family. Neighbors of Basnukaev witnessed several armoured troop carriers enter their home for around two hours during the night. Translated by Nate Young PRIMA-News Information Agency [2004-10-25-Chech-06} October 27th 2004 · Prague Watchdog Extremism accusations dropped against Chechen human rights organization Timur Aliyev, North Caucasus - The Nazran municipal court has ruled that material written by the human rights organization, The Chechen National Salvation Committee (ChKNS), is not extremist. “We proved that our work is carried out in strict accordance with both Article 29 of the Russian Constitution that guarantees freedom of thought and speech to every citizen, and Article 10 of the European Convention guaranteeing freedom of expression,” said Ruslan Badalov, head of ChKNS. This case was brought before the court by the Ingushetian Prosecutor General. The prosecution was represented by Magomed Aushev, public prosecutor, and Khamzat Barkinkhoyev of the Ingushetian Justice Ministry. The ChKNS defense lawyers, however, presented two expert conclusions by the Moscow-based Independent Council of Legal Expertise. Besides, they presented interviews with Vladimir Kalamanov, former Russian presidential envoy on the observance of human rights and freedoms of citizens of the Chechen Republic, and Oleg Mironov, Russian human rights commissioner, in which the government human rights representatives repeatedly remarked on massive human rights violations against the civilian population of Chechnya. Based on the documents presented by the defense, the court ruled against the Prosecutor General and refused to recognize that ChKNS documents were extremist. |