| 2004-11-26 10:21 Two persons abducted in Chechnya GROZNY, November 26 (RIA Novosti) - A staffer of the Penal Directorate (UIN) of Russia's Justice Ministry for the republic and the son of the staffer were kidnapped in Chechnya, a source in the Chechen Interior Ministry said. "At Alkhan-Yurt settlement of the Urus-Martan district (the central part of Chechnya) at 03.45 Moscow time unidentified individuals wearing camouflage clothes and masks penetrated the home of a local resident and, threatening his son - inspector of the search department of the UIN of Russia's Ministry of Justice for Chechnya - with submachine-guns, put him into the Zhiguli car belonging to him, and took him away in an unknown direction," the source in the Interior Ministry said. According to him, besides that, the criminals took a video camera, a cell telephone, gold articles and 4,000 roubles. "Also at 3.45 Moscow time, at Petropavlovskaya settlement of the Grozny district (the central part of Chechnya) five people in camouflage clothes penetrated the home of a staffer of the UIN of Russia's Justice Ministry for Chechnya and, threatening with automatic weapons, took his son away in an unknown direction," the source noted. He added that operational-search activities are now under way. Military is brutal to young recruits By Natalia Zhukova, chairwoman of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Nizhnii Novogorod, Russia The Chicago Times, Published November 28, 2004 RUSSIA -- Once upon a time, Americans felt threatened by my country's military. During the Cold War, the United States felt compelled to undertake huge military expenditures to match its rival's might and vice versa. Those days, thankfully, are over. But today, the Russian armed forces still pose a serious threat--to our own people. About 1 million young men serve in the Russian army, and every year hundreds of them die in non-combat incidents including beatings, suicide and lack of medical care. In Russian, the practice is known as dedovshchina, or "rule of the grandfathers," which in short English is "hazing." But this is no frat-boy ritual. Older conscripts are effectively practicing torture on younger recruits, and the officers who command them are looking the other way. The result is a Russian armed forces that is riddled with brutality and greatly weakened as a fighting force. I saw this with my own eyes in Chechnya, where Russian soldiers have transposed this brutality to the civilian population. My son was drafted in 1994 and was kidnapped by Chechen fighters on Dec. 11, the very first day of the war. Knowing that the Russian military would do nothing to save him, I went to Chechnya to negotiate his release. I was successful in getting Sergei back, but what I saw in Chechnya changed my life forever and turned me into a human-rights activist fighting for the lives of all young Russian men in the army. Russian soldiers had no uniforms, no boots, no medicine and even no food. They were begging for food from the very Chechens they were supposed to be fighting. I have since learned that malnutrition sometimes reaches such proportions that a soldier's health is permanently affected. The way my country treats its conscripts is shocking and humiliating. But perhaps worst of all is the way the officer corps tolerates extreme violence against younger conscripts--kicking, punching and gruesome beating that sometimes ends in death. President Vladimir Putin wants the Russian military to be taken seriously as a partner in the global war on terrorism. Since the horrifying attack on the school in Beslan, we have seen the Russian armed forces further exalted--and further inoculated against criticism. At the same time, Putin is trying to stamp out dissent in the media and civil society. My non-governmental organization, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers, enjoys such wide popular support that I hope the Russian government could not shut us down. From the day a son is born, every Russian family begins to try to figure out how to get him out of military service, where he is sure to suffer. Is this how a world-class military should behave? I don't think so. The "rule of the grandfathers" is not only a stain on Russia's honor, but it also is a serious human-rights abuse that the Russian government has the power to end. It should do so without delay. Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune November 26th 2004 · Prague Watchdog Russian soldier seeks protection from torment of military life Ruslan Isayev, North Caucasus – A Russian contract soldier, Aleksei Cherepanov, has written to Chechen human rights defenders asking to be protected from the torment of his fellow soldiers until his discharge comes through. It seems that Cherepanov has had problems with his unit based in the Urus-Martanovsky district from the beginning. He has been severely beaten several times and now feels that if someone does not intervene soon he may not live long enough to get his discharge. In his letter he detailed what life is like in the unit. Harassment is quite common, drinking is wide-spread, and servicemen are walked all over by spetznaz (special unit) soldiers. He ended his letter with, “My request is small – just please help me become a human being again.” Kavkaz-Center More mass graves discovered in Chechnya; children tortured to death According to the reports from various human rights organizations, which Chechen Press news agency is referring to, new mass graves have been discovered. The graves contained the bodies dumped by invaders and their accomplices on the territory of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. 11 unidentified bodies of teenagers and juveniles, ages 12 to 20, were discovered near the village of Jalka, Gudermes District on November 20. 3 more dead bodies were discovered on the hills of Sunzha Mountain Range. A charred body of local resident Mr. Avtugeriev was discovered November 19 near the town of Barzoi, Shatoi District. Barbed wire was tied all around the body. Mr. Avtugeriev was kidnapped by the invaders earlier. November 16 on the hills of Sunzha Mountain Range, in the vicinity of residential areas near Dairy Farm 15, Grozny Rural District of the country (the main base where the backbone of the invaders’ punitive squad called 'Zapad' ['West'] is stationed) the locals discovered three dead bodies of males ages 20 to 40 with multiple traces of tortures. The identities of the victims have not been established. October 6 in Zavodskoy (Industrial) District of Chechen capital Jokhar (former Grozny) the locals discovered dead bodies of women, whom the invaders most likely killed four years ago. The bodies were discovered at a location where a new house is being built. Kavkaz Center News 2004-11-26 |