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Russia: Muslims and Rights Groups Denounce Repression By Claire Bigg The Kremlin has long been haunted by the fear of Islamic fundamentalism spreading in Russia. The ongoing war in predominantly Muslim Chechnya and the wave of terrorist attacks that hit Russia last summer have served to fuel these fears. The number of Muslims brought before Russian courts for alleged links with the banned radical Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir is on the rise. But ordinary Muslims say they are taking the brunt of the government's campaign to stamp out terrorism in the country. The trial in a Russian republic of nine people accused of links to a banned organization has restarted debate on the potential expansion of radical Islam in Russia. The trial of nine, all of whom were arrested in Bashkortostan in December, began in the republic last week. The defendants are all accused of involvement in terrorist activities, organization of a criminal group, and illegal possession of weapons in connection with their alleged ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir. Hizb ut-Tahrir, which seeks to establish a caliphate in Central Asia, formally rejects violence but was banned in Russia as a terrorist organization in 2003. Russia's Federal Security Service accuses the group of supporting separatist rebels in Chechnya. The trial in Bashkortostan is just one in a string of similar judicial proceedings now taking place in Russia. In April, a court in Tatarstan sentenced five local residents to conditional terms of imprisonment for allegedly cooperating with Hizb ut-Tahrir and disseminating its literature. Last November, police detained 16 people throughout Bashkortostan for allegedly distributing Hizb ut-Tahrir leaflets -- although no criminal investigation was launched in that case. Muslim representatives and human rights groups, however, say the authorities' efforts to expose Islamic fundamentalists are increasingly targeting ordinary Muslims. Nafigula Oshirov, the supreme mufti for the Central Asian part of Russia, says random police checks and arrests are becoming a common occurrence for members of Russia's Muslim community. "It is not rare that law-enforcement bodies, including members of the Interior Ministry, surround a mosque during the Friday prayer. When people come out they thoroughly check everybody's passports. Unfortunately this tendency is on the rise and such operations take place in many cities," Oshirov said. The Interior Ministry's press service declined to comment on 3 May. Human rights groups accuse law-enforcement bodies of beating Muslims and of planting explosives, narcotics, and Hizb ut-Tahrir literature on them before arresting them. Vitalii Ponomarev works for the Russian human-rights group Memorial. He says Russian authorities often do not even examine Islamic literature that is taken from Muslims before launching criminal proceedings against them for having ties to Hizb ut-Tahrir: "In the court cases that we have attended, seized Islamic literature whose content has not even undergone an examination figures as material evidence of the crime. The mere possession of this literature, combined with testimony that this person is a Wahhabi or a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, is enough evidence to bring criminal charges," Ponomarev said. The first measures to fight Islamic extremism in Russia were taken in the late 1990s, when the southern republics of Daghestan and Chechnya banned Wahhabism. Wahhabism is a strict form of Islam. In Russia it is often a synonym for terrorism. Oshirov accuses the Russian authorities of labeling Muslims as Wahhabis as a means of cracking down on them. "These terms are all made up terms that enable law-enforcement agencies to carry out a repressive policy against any Muslim. If today you are branded a Wahhabi or a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, it means that anything can be done to you," Oshirov said. Human rights groups say the Kremlin is cracking down on Muslims because it believes radical Islamic groups are seeking to take control of Russian regions inhabited by Muslims. Russia is home to around 20 million Muslims, most of them concentrated in the North Caucasus and the republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan. Ponomarev, however, sees another reason behind the rising wave of Hizb ut-Tahrir trials in Russia. Muslims are paying the price, he says, for what has been widely criticized as the government's failure to avert the tragedy that occurred when terrorists took hostages at a school in the southern Russian city of Beslan, North Ossetia, last September. "Russia really has been confronted with the problem of terrorism and the special forces were strongly criticized for their inability to prevent the terror attack [in Beslan]. This is why they had an interest in branding a massive organization as 'terrorist,' so if more violence occurs they can say they were fighting terrorism by arresting members of this organization," Ponomarev said. More than 330 people, half of them children, were killed during the hostage crisis. Most of the victims died when Russian special-forces troops stormed the school. Source: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Press Release of the Society for Threatened Peoples, May 10th 2005 EU-Russia Summit in Moscow: Upsurge of persecution of minorities and xenophobia in Russia On the occation of the EU-Russia Summit held today in Moscow the Society for Threatened Peoples warned about the increase of discrimination, persecution of ethnic minorities and the upsurge in racism, antisemitism and xenophobia in the Russian Federation. Furthermore, Sarah Reinke, head of the European desk of the Society, sharply critizised that Moscow had taken no steps whatsoever in the direction of a peaceful political resolution to the bloody war in Chechnya. Arbitrariness and impunity are still prevailing in the Northcaucasus. Civilians are abducted daily by russian security forces or pro-russian chechen death squadrons. At least 2.500 civilians disappeared since 1999. Minorities like the Bashkirs in the Republic of Bashkiriya, the Mari in the autonomous Republic of Mari El and the Turk Meshkets in the Region of Krasnodar more and more frequently complain about ethnic discrimination and persecution. Members of the Mari group who are also part of the political opposition in Mari El have been removed from governement posts, editorial offices and administrative posts. Journalists were harrassed, attacked and beaten up. The roughly 7.000 stateless Turk Meshkets in Krasnodar are bullied by the police, militia and cossack units. Marriages cannot be registered because the relavant papers are missing. Children have to attent special classes for Turk Meshkets. In the neighbouring republics of Chechnya, like Ingushetia, Dagestan, Karbadino-Balkaria, Karatschai-Tscherkessia and Ossetia, police, militia and secret services take brutal action against alleged terrorists and religious leaders. The political opposition is suppressed, crime, corruption and state arbitrariness are prevailing. According to police data there were 8.500 racially motivated crimes in Russia in 2004. 44 murders have been counted. According to a public survey 42 % of the respondents wish to reduce the influence of Jews in public life, 70% are in favor of the concentration of power in the hands of ethnic Russians. E-Mail: presse@gfbv.de, Homepage:http://www.gfbv.de IHF Appeals to Chechen Prosecutor Regarding the "Disappearance" of the Head of the Humanitarian NGO "Save the Generation", Murad Muradov, on 15 April 2005 Vienna, 9 May 2005. The IHF today sent an open letter to the Prosecutor of the Chechen Republic, Vladimir Kravchenko, asking his office to investigate the fate and whereabouts of Murad Muradov (born 1976), the head of the humanitarian NGO "Save the Generation", who 'disappeared' after having been unlawfully detained by an unknown law enforcement / security structure on 15 April 2005 from his flat in Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street 141 in the Ippodromniy micro-district in Grozny. The unknown law enforcement / security structure, most likely the FSB, also seized documentation and equipment of the group, which provides humanitarian aid to orphans, children invalids (mainly mine victims) and their families, and is a project partner of the UN agencies UNICEF, WHO and WFP. The next day another unsanctioned search was conducted in the house of the mother of Muradov, during which additional documentation was seized. The unlawful detention of Muradov took place during a big special operation against a group of armed fighters in the fourth floor of the nine-storey house in Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street 141, killing between three and six Chechen fighters, five members of the spetsnaz (special forces) of the FSB (Federal Security Service) and up to 6 civilians, wounding several more. For further information: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights In Vienna: Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, +43-1-408 88 22 or +43-676-635 66 12; Henriette Schroeder, IHF Press Officer, +43 - 676 - 725 48 29 In Moscow: Tanya Lokshina, +7-095-208 1765 Save the Generation, Grozny, Zarema Sajdullaeva, +7-928-290 46 44 ___________________________ To: Vladimir Pavlovich Kravchenko, Prosecutor of the Republic of Chechnya, RF, Via facsimile + 7 (8712) 22 31 44 , + 7 (095) 777 92 26 Copy: Vladimir Ustinov, Prosecutor General of the RF, Via facsimile +7(095) 921-41-86 Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman of the RF, Via facsimile +7(095) 207-76-30 Ella Pamfilova, Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the RF, Via facsimile +7 (095) 206-48-55 OPEN LETTER Vienna, 9 May 2005 Dear Prosecutor, I am writing to you on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) regarding the unlawful detention and 'disappearance' of Murad H. Muradov (born 1976), the chairman of the humanitarian NGO "Save the Generation", on 15 April 2005 in Grozny. On 15 April 2005, during a special operation against a group of armed fighters in the fourth floor of the nine-storey house in Grozny´s Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street 141, an unknown law enforcement / security structure illegally detained and took away in an unknown direction Murad Hamidovich Muradov (born 1976 ), chairman of the humanitarian NGO "Save the Generation" , who lives in the same house. According to witnesses, they also seized office equipment belonging to "Save the Generation" (one computer, three printers and two scanners), as well as documentation material including the charter of the organization, financial reports, and the database of three thousand persons (mainly children and teenagers), who were permanently injured by mines. Without showing any documents, on 16 April, employees of an unknown law enforcement / security structure made another unsanctioned search, this time in the house of Muradov's parents (Grozny, Krenkel street 22), and seized other documents belonging to "Save the Generation" The NGO "Save the Generation" was founded in June 2001, and its goal is to provide humanitarian aid to disabled children, orphans and other socially vulnerable groups. Most are landmine victims. The organization distributes many necessary items to the victims (such as wheelchairs, canes, crutches and stationery), helps the families of these victims, and is conducting informational activities on topics such as how to avoid landmine accidents. The organization is an executive partner of the UN agencies UNICEF, WHO and WFP. Employees of the organization "Save the Generation" are afraid that some of the teenager-invalids, whose names are specified in the seized database of the organization, are in danger of being unlawfully detained. ****** We appeal to you to investigate the fate and whereabouts of Murad H. Muradov, and either to ensure that he is released immediately by those who hold them, or to provide a legal arrest warrant stating the reasons for his detention, which should be communicated to his family members. In either case we appeal to you to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident described above. We ask you to inform us about the investigation process of this case. Sincerely, Dr. Aaron Rhodes (Executive Director) cc OSCE Delegations Council of Europe, Mr. Rudolf Bindig, Chechnya-Rapporteur for the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; Mr. Andreas Gross and Mr. Konstantin Kosachev, Chairperson and Vice-chairperson of the Ad Hoc Sub-Committee for the organisation of the Round Table on the political situation in the Chechen Republic of the Political Affairs Committee; Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioned for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mr. Stephen J. Toope, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances National Helsinki Committees ________________________________________ International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Wickenburggasse 14/7 A-1080 Vienna Tel. +43-1-408 88 22 Fax: +43-1-408 88 22 ext. 50 Web: http://www.ihf-hr.org _____________________________________