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Christian Science Monitor from the August 29, 2005 edition Beslan mothers: Putin is culpable Relatives of victims in last year's massacre will meet the Russian president on Friday. By Fred Weir | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MOSCOW – Shamil Basayev is Russia's Osama bin Laden. Yet as Beslan prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of the school siege he engineered, many of the victims' mothers are increasingly laying blame for the September massacre not on Mr. Basayev, but on Russian authorities. They are stoking controversy by demanding that top leaders, including President Vladimir Putin, stay away from this week's service to commemorate the 331 victims, half of them children, who perished in the Sept. 1-3, 2004, terrorist attack. Their accusations have been fueled by leaks from two still-incomplete investigations, and evidence presented at the ongoing trial of the sole surviving terrorist, Nurpashi Kulayev. Both have raised sharp doubts about the official version of events. Witnesses at Mr. Kulayev's trial have testified that Russian security forces, using flame-throwers and tanks against a school holding more than 1,000 hostages, may have been responsible for many deaths. Others have fingered corrupt officials and inept police officers for allowing the terrorists to drive across a heavily guarded border and seize a school in the center of a large town. "We want all those who are responsible to face justice," says Roza Sidakova, a spokesperson for the Beslan Mothers group. Ms. Sidakova lost her 9-year-old daughter when security forces stormed the school on Sept. 3. The mood of disbelief is not confined to victims' families. A countrywide poll conducted last month by the Moscow-based Public Opinion Foundation found that only 15 percent of Russians expect the official investigation, headed by Alexander Torshin, the deputy speaker of parliament's upper house, to get to the bottom of what happened in Beslan. Another 20 percent think the commission will discover the truth, but keep it secret. "The reaction of the mothers of Beslan is a manifestation of the profound distrust many Russians are feeling toward the authorities," says Yevgenia Albats, a political scientist at the Moscow Higher School of Economics. "This is because the authorities have covered the truth about those events of a year ago in a thick layer of lies, which contaminates everything." The official version holds that on Sept. 1, 32 terrorists linked to Basayev, a Chechen warlord, drove in a hijacked military-style truck from the neighboring republic of Ingushetia, evaded many police checkpoints, and occupied Beslan School No. 1. They took about 1,200 children, parents, and teachers hostage in the school's gym, which the terrorists festooned with makeshift explosives. On the third day of the crisis, one of the terrorists' bombs accidentally detonated, prompting security forces to launch an ill-prepared 10-hour assault that succeeded in saving most hostages. According to officials, security troops took all possible precautions to protect civilians, but hundreds of casualties occurred when the gym's roof, set alight by terrorist bombs, came crashing down. But this picture is challenged by mothers - and many witnesses at Kulayev's trial - who say there were at least 50 attackers, many of whom escaped. The terrorists made use of weapons and supplies that had been prepositioned in the school, suggesting an inside job, they said. Kulayev testified that the first explosion resulted when a Russian sniper killed one of the hostage-takers who was holding down a bomb-detonator with his foot. Kulayev's trial has brought stunning revelations. Russian Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel was forced to admit that "Shmel" flame-throwers were used in the assault, after local mothers found several launch tubes and submitted them to the court. Mr. Shepel insisted the weapons fired only fuel-air explosives that day, rather than the incendiary napalm grenades they are also designed to use, and thus could not have caused the gym fire that killed most of the hostages. (*) But Stanislav Kesayev, who heads an investigation set up by North Ossetia's parliament, says that traces of napalm were found by medical examiners. "As the days go by, we see that the testimony of Kulayev and other information coming out at the trial is producing a very different view of what happened," he says. Under pressure from the mothers, Russian authorities also admitted that two T-72 tanks fired several cannon rounds into the school during the battle on Sept. 3, but say they did not shoot at the gym where hostages were held. Mr. Kesayev says that his local probe, which Russian officials have denounced as "illegal," has been unable to establish who was in command of the security operation at Beslan. "We can't even say who was giving the orders," he says. "There is a general feeling here that Kulayev will be convicted, and that will be the end of it." The head of the Moscow-based parliamentary investigation, Mr. Torshin, told the newspaper Izvestia this week that the Beslan mothers are acting from emotions and "not being logical" in their accusations against Russia's leadership. "The fact that this open trial [of Kulayev] is taking place shows that the authorities are not interested in keeping secrets," he said. For Mr. Putin, whose popularity has been sliding for several months, the challenge posed by the Beslan mothers has been an embarrassment. The Kremlin last week countered by inviting the women to talk with Putin in Moscow on Friday, in the midst of the Beslan memorial services. Susanna Dudiyeva, head of the mothers' group, says the women resent the timing of the summons, but, "We shall go to Moscow, overcoming our pain and offense," she told the online newspaper Gazeta.ru. "We will ask our questions, and we expect to hear answers." http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0829/p06s01-woeu.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Beslan mothers suspect cover-up By Artyom Liss BBC News, Vladikavkaz, Russia Twice a week, a small commuter bus pulls up outside the Supreme Court of North Ossetia. The bus is dazzlingly pink - it almost looks like a big toy. But the journey its passengers are on is grim and painful. Inside the bus are a few dozen grey-haired women, dressed in black - the mothers of Beslan. Each of them lost a child or a close relative during the mass hostage-taking in a school nearly a year ago, which resulted in more than 300 deaths. Now they spend two days a week in court, at the trial of Nur-Pashi Kulayev. He is the only alleged hostage-taker captured alive after siege. Demand for justice "I think it's my duty to be here", explains Susanna Dudiyeva, head of the Beslan Mothers' Committee. "Everything connected to the murder of my son is important, and we must all seek justice; we must seek an objective investigation." Outside the court, the women wait patiently for the judge's secretary to take them into the brightly lit courtroom, through a thick metal door, past a line of journalists. By the time they arrive, Nur-Pashi Kulayev is already sitting on his bench. He is separated from the mothers by a transparent plastic wall. He does not look up even for a moment - instead he stares at his shoes. This court has to interrogate hundreds of victims and witnesses of Russia's worst hostage-taking. Each week, the number of stories still to be heard goes down - but only ever so slightly. And these are stories of horror and death - of dying children and maimed mothers who were unable to help them. Pain resurfaces When Malik Kalchakeyev, 14, is called forward to give his evidence, he speaks slowly, making long pauses, as if trying to remember every detail. "On the second day, we were all very thirsty. Women told us, the boys, to pee into plastic bottles so that the children could then drink our pee," the boy said, bursting into tears. "I peed into a bottle, and small children - even babies - drank it." Malik stops mid-sentence. He cannot continue - he is crying. But Nur-Pashi Kulayev, as ever, shows almost no emotion. Not even when the judge, Tamerlan Aguzarov, angrily orders: "Listen, Kulayev, listen!" Nor even when one of the mothers shouts from the back of the courtroom: "Give me this terrorist! We will tear the bastard apart!" Such scenes have become almost routine at this trial. And many more Beslan-related trials are still expected. The Mothers of Beslan think the officials who led the Russian operation to storm the school should also be put on trial, accusing them of incompetence and negligence. They also want to see those who let the hostage-takers drive freely into Beslan put in the dock. And their blame goes right to the top. In their view, President Vladimir Putin should also be held responsible for failing to build a system that would protect millions of ordinary Russians. Search for truth "If the real culprits are not punished, if bureaucrats continue with their irresponsible acts, I think we'll be heading for a catastrophe," rages Susanna Dudiyeva. "I think we'll see many more Beslans. Those in power are trying to defend one another, refusing to accept any blame. But we'll do all we can to put them in the dock, right here, in this courtroom." Like everybody else in the Mothers' Committee, she is sure that the authorities' real mission is not to find the truth, but to whitewash the generals and politicians who organised the abortive assault to free the captives. So for her, the trial of Nur-Pashi Kulayev is not just a legal case - it is also a chance to speak her mind. Last week, she led a group of women who staged a 24-hour sit-in inside the courtroom. And on 2 September, she and a few other mothers will be in Moscow to talk to President Putin - a meeting they requested 11 months ago. But even in the Kremlin, they do not expect to get answers to all their questions. "We are the ones who will have to find the truth," says Zalima Guburova, who lost her mother and son in the siege. "The authorities will never tell us what really happened, because for them it will mean losing comfortable jobs with huge salaries and benefits. So we'll continue going to court and looking for our own evidence. We must keep digging - digging every minute of every day." Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/europe/4192898.stm Published: 2005/08/28 Beslan Mothers Will Invite Putin To Court gazeta.ru September 1, 2005 (quick tr. by David McDuff) The "Mothers of Beslan" will invite Vladimir Putin to court. The invitation will be made on Friday in Moscow, during the meeting of the Mothers of Beslan with the President. On Thursday the themes of this meeting were discussed in Beslan. In Beslan mourning events continue on the occasion of the anniversary of the tragic events in School No. 1. As gazeta.ru has already noted, after the morning visit of the burned down gymnasium of the school, where the greater part of the children who were taken hostage perished, behind closed doors a meeting took place between the plenipotentiary of the President in the southern region Dmitriy Kozak with the activists of the committee of mothers. As gazeta.ru explained, at the meeting with Kozak relatives of the dead children said that at tomorrow's meeting in the Kremlin they will make requests of President Putin. After the meeting was concluded, Ella Kisayeva, the representative of the "mothers of Beslan" recalled that some the relatives have spoken out against the trip to Putin. However, in connection with the fact that four people nevertheless decided to go, the rest asked that a request be conveyed to Putin to appear in the law court at the proceedings concerning the terrorist act and to explain his actions of 1-3 September last year. As head of the commission for the distribution of aid to victims of the terrorist act Mairbek Tuayev noted, at the meeting of the residents of Beslan with Kozak the mothers of those who perished also stated that they have very many questions about the investigation of the terrorist act. "Yet in spite of this, the public prosecutor's office, in the person of Nikolai Shepel [deputy public prosecutor], instead of rendering assistance and protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens, has gone over to the other side ", says Tuayev. According to him, at the meeting there was no discussion of the appeal of the residents of Beslan for political asylum in other countries (The letter, which was disseminated in Beslan today on behalf of almost five hundred inhabitants, has been reported by gazeta.ru in detail.) "Actually this is the first I have heard of this. I have heard nothing about it and I do not want to develop this theme. Five minutes ago I met with Susanna Dudiyeva (head of the "Mothers Of Beslan" committee), and she said nothing about any appeal." eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 26/8/2005 Chechnya citizens still pressured Not only has the condition of citizens of Chechnya not improved over the past year, but it has worsened considerably, Svetlana Gannushkina, leader of the Migration and Law Network of the Human Rights Centre Memorial, said at the presentation of a report titled The Condition of Chechnya Residents in the Russian Federation. June 2004 - June 2005. Residents of the republic continue to be deported from both Chechnya and their refuges in other regions where they also face extremely inimical attitudes on the part of representatives of local governments and law enforcement agencies. Outside Chechnya, there are 23,900 people according to official information as of 15 April 2005 quoted in the report, while the total number of internally displaced persons is 210,800. However, the authors of the report indicate the actual number of residents of Chechnya that may be referred to as internally displaced persons is much higher. They all are in extremely difficult living conditions. About 100,000 families of internally displaced persons currently remain registered. Out of them, 49,100 families have been recognised as needing homes. "If housing proceeds at the same rates (2,000 families per year), it will take 25 years to provide homes to all forced migrants," the report indicates. "Realizing that, the government chooses an easier way to solve the problem and deregisters 120,000 forced migrants a year." Fewer and fewer internally displaced people from Chechnya remain in temporary accommodation points. They have to return home because of pressure exerted on them. Along with difficult social conditions, Chechnya residents also face extremely negative attitudes towards them which have become especially exacerbated after the events in Beslan. Meanwhile, the government's position with regard to residents of the republic by no means facilitates improvement of their condition, but on the contrary encourages law enforcement agencies in discriminatory actions, according to Ms Gannushkina. The Human Rights Centre Memorial has more than once registered abductions of civilians in the armed conflict area in the North Caucasus and opening of fabricated criminal cases against them. Residents of Chechnya have absolutely no rights in the republic, says Svetlana Gannushkina. Meanwhile, their attempts to apply to a third party for help are intercepted. Four cases of persecution of Chechens who lodged complaints with the European Court of Human Rights over the disappearance or murder of their relatives have been registered over the last year alone, Memorial lawyer Kirill Koroteyev remarked. Afraid of the life and future of their children, Chechens do not want to go back to the republic where military action still goes on. For them, however, there is no alternative to settle in other regions either, the authors of the report believe. Court overturns acquittals in Chechnya killings Tue 30 Aug 2005 MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Russia's Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a second retrial of four servicemen charged with killing civilians in Chechnya, after lower courts twice acquitted them in rulings that provoked outrage from human rights groups. The same court last year overturned an initial verdict by a military court jury acquitting Captain Eduard Ulman and his three subordinates of the 2002 killing of six civilians who included a woman and a teenager. But a new jury summoned in May found the four, who have argued they were following orders by unspecified commanders, not guilty again. The acquittals of the servicemen showed that Russian troops fighting separatists in Chechnya were able to abuse civilians without fear of punishment, victims' relatives and rights groups have said. The May verdict has fuelled strong protests in Chechnya, where people blame Russian soldiers for widespread abuses of civilians in the Kremlin's military drive to crush the separatist rebellion. "The acquittal of Eduard Ulman, Alexei Perelevsky, Alexander Kalagansky and Vladimir Voevodin is overturned because of violations of criminal procedures," Judge Alexander Koronets read out his decision. He said the case would be sent back to the same military court to re-investigate and reconsider it under a new jury. Human rights campaigners say charges that Ulman and his men opened fire on a civilian vehicle in January 2002 and executed the survivors were typical of a dirty war in Chechnya where both sides target civilians. Only one high-ranking officer, Colonel Yuri Budanov, has been convicted for crimes against civilians during the 10-year Chechen war. Outbreak of epidemic in Chechnya By Lecha Sadayev CHECHNYA - During this past week some 65 children have been hospitalized with symptoms of the bacterial disease Leptospirosis. According to the chief doctor at a hospital in Gudermes, Idris Baysultanov, this dangerous disease is normally transmitted to people from animals. Outbreaks of leptospirosis are usually caused by exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected animals. In this instance, the children, from the Gudermessky and Kurchaloysky districts, apparently caught the disease by swimming in the contaminated Michig river. The doctors have undertaken emergency measures to isolate the source, and stem the spread, of the epidemic. Baysultanov said groups of medical experts are operating in many areas. In Iliskhan- Yurt, specialists have tested more than 100 children, some of whom were infected. The government press office announced that samples of water from the affected river have been sent to Dagestan to be analyzed by experts. This will confirm whether the river is in fact the underlying cause of the epidemic. (MG/E,T,B) http://www.watchdog.cz/?show=000000-000002-000001-000160&lang=1 Man abducted in Grozny by unknown persons in masks By Lecha Sadayev GROZNY, Chechnya – On the night of August 31 the perfectly routine abduction of a man took place on Yunaya Street in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny. The duty desk of the Oktyabrsky district police station reported that 20-year-old Rustam Magomadov was abducted from his house. According to the abducted man's relatives, the night "visitors" wore masks and camouflage uniform, and spoke good Russian without the slightest accent. The criminals drove off in two vehicles without number plates. The Grozny section of the "Memorial" human rights center reports that since the beginning of 2005 more than 180 civilians have been abducted. Meanwhile, colonel-general Arkady Yedelev, head of regional operational headquarters of the Joint Troops Group (Forces) in the Northern Caucasus, told journalists yesterday that during the past 7 months no more than 79 people have been abducted in Chechnya, while within an analogous period last year the number of those abducted amounted to 164. Translated by David McDuff. (MD/A,B) www.watchdog.cz RCFS reports Nizniy Novgorod Report # 613 Militia makes an attempt to detain the managing director of the RCFS On 1 September 2005 at about 11.10 am Stanislav Dmitrivsky was stopped by two militiamen of the patrol force when he was going to work who made an attempt to detain him. Dmitirievsky was stopped in Sovetskaya Square not far from the building where the RCFS office is situated. They started asking him why “he had so strange eyes and why he was walking in such a strange way. Then they asked him whether he had some alcohol in the morning. When the militiamen ordered Dmitrievsky to show his passport, they started examining it and it lasted for quite a long time. They also asked him where he worked. Dmitrievsky tells, “I have an impression that the militiamen were trying to find any cause to detain me and if I hadn’t had my passport on me, I would have been detained. All that lasted for quite a time. After all, I asked the militiamen whether they had any other questions or claims. One of the militiamen said no and permitted me to go to work. It must be connected with the intention to prevent us from holding tomorrow’s picket in front of the building of the tax inspection. However, I can’t state anything for sure as today is September 1 and the militia is carrying their traditional raid against drunken people. They surely have received some special order how much people addicted to alcohol and people who resemble Chechen terrorists they should detain”. On 2 September at 3 pm the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society is going to hold a picket in front of the building of the tax inspection of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod situated at the address 52a Il’inskaya Street. The aim of the picket is to express disagreement to the absolute unlawful, in our opinion, decision to impose the income tax upon the assets received by a public organization to implement projects and demonstrate our contempt for the staffers of the tax inspections who have performed “the dirty political order”, from the point of view of the members of the RCFS. Today Stanislav Dmitirvsky received summons from the prosecutor’s office to come to the chief investigator Oleg Kiryukov who is going to charge him of perpetrating the crime that part1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian federation refers to (inciting to ethnic hatred) and to interrogate him as a charged offender. Dmitirevsky is to be charged at 11 am tomorrow. Yesterday famous Russian human right advocates including Sergey Kovalyov and Lyudmila Alekseeva signed “The Open Letter on RCFS Persecution” in which they expressed their deep concern about harassment of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society that has been imposed on it by different state bodies. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 609 New head of the administration of Shali district is appointed On 31 August 2005, the president of the Chechen Republic Alu Alkhanov signed the order to appoint the new head of the Chechen Shali district administration. Eduard Zakaev received this appointment. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 608 The chief of Shali district Pension Department is set free for ransom after his kidnapping On 29 August 2005, Musostov Bekhkan Salaudinovich (born 1966), a chief of the Pension Department of the Chechen Shali district was released by unidentified armed people who abducted him from his own house situated at 29 Mozdokskaya Street at night from 27 to 28 August 2005. According to the information obtained from an anonymous source within the law-enforcement agencies of the republic, on 27 August Musostov left his house in his GAZ vehicle (license plate 3102 ? 216 ?? 26 region). There were four more people in Musostov's car whose particulars have not been established. On 29 August Bekkhan Musostov was set free. According to local people, relatives of the kidnapped man didn't deliberately reveal information about his kidnapping as they had hoped that the perpetrators would turn to them with the offer to set him free for ransom. According to the obtained information, Bekkhan Musostov was set free after the perpetrators had received the ransom. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 607 Detention of two brothers in Katyr-Yurt village On 28 August 2005 unidentified people in camouflage took Ustaev Rustam (born 1983) from his own house situated in the village of Katyr-Yurt of the Chechen Achkhoy-martan district at the address 131 Lenin Street. A correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency reports that the abducted man is being kept in a temporary detention center in Achkhoy-Martan district center. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior, Rustam Ustaev “confessed to the fact that he was involved into assault at Roshni-Tchu village at night of 12-12 August as a member of a criminal group that was eighty or ninety people in number. He admitted his guilt as a result of additional investigatory measures. In the search of Ustaev’s household five grenades and a camouflage uniform were found”. At about the same time on 28 August representatives of some unidentified force agency abducted Rustam Ustaev’s cousin, Ustaev Kyura Kozh-Akhmedovich (born 1981), a resident of Katyr-Yurt village where he lives at 13 Sadovaya Street. The abducted man works as an electrician in Achkhoy-Martan district center. According to the preliminary information, Ustaev Kyura is being kept in Gudrmes district center. (From our correspondent) Sunzhenskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 606 Resident of Assinovskaya is shot dead On 24 August 2005, according to a source with the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, two unidentified armed people penetrated into house #117 in Mezhdunarodnaya Street in the settlement of Assinovskaya of the Chechen Sunzha district and killed its owner Khamerzaev Alaudin Alievich (born 1954). The perpetrators were dressed in civilian clothes and their faces were covered with masks. The details of the crime are being established. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 605 Additional information about abductions in Chechnya On 30 August 2005 the Russian-Chechen Information Agency received new reports about abductions perpetrated in the territory of the Chechen Republic. On 25 August 2005, two unidentified people armed with firearms burst into the house situated at 125 Perepisnaya Street in Avtorkhanovsky (Leninsky) district of Grozny and took the owner of this house El’zhurkaev Khasu Magomedovich (born 1960) under gunpoint. The information was obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. The same day unidentified people in camouflage and masks abducted a serviceman of 2nd company at the Guard Department at the Ministry of the Interior of the republic a police sergeant Inaev Rustam Lechaevich (born 1983). He was abducted from his own house at 5 Vorozhev Street. According to a source with the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the abductors were moving in two UAZ vehicles without any number plates. The perpetrators also seized Inaev’s firearms that he owned as a police serviceman. According to the same source, on 23 August in the settlement of Mekkenskaya of the Chechen Naur district a group of four unidentified people burst into the house situated at the address 8 Brigandnaya Street and took Solomkhadjiev Isa Eragievich (born 1964) to an unknown destination under gunpoint. As of the present moment, the destinies and whereabouts of the abducted people remain unknown. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 604 Resident of Shali district center is abducted in Berdykel village On 27 August 2005 in the village of Berdykel of the Chechen Shali district center unidentified people abducted a resident of the Chechen Shali district center Shabaev Lechi Ramzanovich who was staying at his relatives. The abducted man lives at 97 Naberezhnaya Street in the Shali district center. According to his relatives, on 25 August unidentified people abducted his cousin who is a native of the village of Berdykel but who had been living in Moscow for the last few years. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 603 Unidentified murderers shoot dead a woman in Grozny On 25 August 2005, unidentified people shot dead Utsieva Raisa Shalievna (born 1966) in Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny. The woman worked in the “Bart” café and lived 41 Solikamskaya Street. According to a source within law-enforcement agencies of the republic, the murderers were dressed in civilian clothes. They fires four bullets at the woman and disappeared to an unknown destination. Raisa Utsieva died on the spot. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 602 20-year-old girl’s death is caused by an accidental bullet On 28 August 2005 in the settlement of Mayakovsky that is situated within the precincts of Grozny’s Staropropromyslovsky district a local resident Sharbieva Seda Viskhanovna (born 1990) was killed with an accidental bullet fired by a guest at a wedding ceremony. According to the preliminary information, the girl was standing on a balcony of her flat in house No125 when she was killed. The details of the accident are being established. (From our correspondent) http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php Sunzhenskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 601 Abduction of Assinivskaya settlement On 25 August 2005, a group of five or six unidentified armed people abducted a resident of Assinovskaya settlement of the Chechen Sunzha district Mulkaev Rustam (aged 35) from his own house at 106 Dyakov Street. Mulkaev is the father of two children. According to the mother of the abducted man, the perpetrators were moving around in three vehicles, including UAZ, and “Zhiguli” cars of the 99th and 10th models. Having burst into the house, the perpetrators grabbed Rustam Mulkaev, took him out of the house and forced into one of their cars. The cars disappeared to an unknown destination. Immediately after Mulkaev’s abduction, his relatives turned to the head of the village administration Dil’khoev wit the request to help them. Dil’khoev promised to find out what had happened and to establish the whereabouts of Mulkaev. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 600 Shelling of outskirts of Makhkety village On 27 August 2005 at about 6 pm the forested area situated to the North-West from the village of Makhkety of the Chechen Vedeno district was subjected to shelling by the Russian artillery. According to residents of the village, shelling lasted for an hour and a half. No casualties among the civil population have been reported. (From our correspondent) Tatarstan Report # 599 Representative of the Chechen Republic in Kazan knows nothing about forcing Chechens out of the city On 26 August 2005 a correspondent of the RCIA turned to the Representative office of the Chechen Republic in Tatarstan with the request to comment on the information about forcing ethnic Chechens out of the Tatar capital that we have received from different sources for the last few days. In the telephone conversation the leader of the Representative office of the Chechen Republic Nasarbek Samkhanov stated that he didn't have any information about facts when ethnic Chechens had been forced out of Kasan because of celebration of 1000 anniversary of the Tatar capital. He told, “This is true that as of the present moment the law-enforcement agencies of Tatarstan are conducting active security measures connected with the arrival of Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials to Kasan to participate in the celebration of its anniversary. However, we don't have any information that any special measures are being undertaken against Chechens. Our representative office has not received such information, at least. We have registered a few cases when Chechens had problems with getting registered in the republic. We helped to solve those problems in the usual way”. Meanwhile, according to the information agency “Grani.ru”, “the police have been conducting raids against local ethnic Chechens in the capital of Tatarstan in August on the threshold of celebrating the thousandth anniversary of Kasan”. Grani.ru web page reports a lawyer of Kasan branch of the “Memorial” human rights center Fisuli Balafendiev as stating that the special measures were aimed at clearing the city of Chechens. According to Balafendiev, no exceptions were made even for bed-patients. On 9 August the police took Khabibula Tagirov out of his flat to the local police office although he was bedridden after the injury in the road accident. The man went on a hunger strike at the police office. Hostels and students' dormitories attracted the greatest attention from the police. According to the “Memorial” human rights center, the service personnel of the OMON armed with firearms and burst several times every week in August into dormitories and detained young Chechens. Many policemen were with dogs. The students were taken to police offices where they were told to leave the city immediately. Owners of the flats rented by ethnic Chechens have been subjected to threatening by representatives of the department on combating the organized criminality. They were also taken to police offices where they were told that criminal cases would be commenced against them as “accomplices of acts of terror” if they didn't get rid of their tenants in the shortest possible time. According to Balafendiev, some fifty Chechens have applied to him with complaints about arbitrary actions of the law-enforcement agencies against them. Many of those people have had to leave Kasan. Balafendiev has prepared the complaint on these facts of human rights violations that he is going to file to the prosecutor of Vakhitovsky district of Kasan. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 598 Mysterious disappearance of the police officer of Ali-Yurt village On 21 August 2005, the police officer of the village of Ali-Yurt of Ingushetia's Nazran district Avtuev Yakub disappeared without any traces left. According to the residents of the village, they saw Avtuev at about 9.30 pm near the building of the village administration the last time. Avtuev was speaking over his cell phone standing at his “Zhiguli” car of the 7th model. As of the present moment, Avtuev's whereabouts and destiny remain unknown. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 597 A member of the Chechen underground movement is killed in a special operation in Ali-Yurt village On 26 August 2005 representatives of the federal force agencies conducted a special operation in the village of Ali-Yurt of Ingushetia'a Nazran district. The operation was aimed at detention of a member of the armed underground movement, a certain Khanukaev. A correspondent of the RCIA has managed to establish that Khanukaev trying to escape from his pursuers ran into the house belonging to the local resident Musa Basaev where he made an attempt to hide himself. The owner of the house and his wife were at home at that time. The Russian military opened fire from firearms. The military had not evacuated the residents of the houses in the area. As a result of the fire, Khanukaev was killed. Musa Basaev and his wife were not injured but they are suffering from a serious stress that they suffered. Basaev's house was seriously damaged. (From our correspondent)