| Russia Warns Of Radioactive Pollution
At Chechen Plant Radioactive Cobalt-60 has been discovered in the Chechen capital (RFE/RL) 16 December 2005 -- Russian authorities say a criminal investigation has been launched into a case of radioactive pollution discovered at a chemical plant in Grozny, the capital of the Northern Caucasus republic of Chechnya. A statement posted on 15 December on the website of the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office describes radioactivity levels at the Chechenneftekhimprom production facility as "catastrophic." The source has been identified as a radioisotope known as Cobalt-60. The statement says 27 to 29 "uncontrolled radioactive elements" were discovered in one of the plant's workshops and that radioactivity there is 58,000 times higher than the admissible levels. The Prosecutor-General’s Office blames the plant's management for not taking appropriate steps to stop the pollution. (genproc.gov.ru) CTK National News Wire December 15, 2005 Thursday 7:44 PM (Central European Time) Slovakia upbraided for denying Chechens asylum DAM BRATISLAVA, Dec 15 (CTK) Refugees from Chechnya, who currently form the most numerous group of asylum-seekers in Slovakia, are being put in danger by Slovak authorities that refuse to grant them asylum, warns Austria's independent asylum senate. The Slovak Interior Ministry counters that most of the Chechen asylum-seekers do not meet the necessary conditions to be granted asylum. Martin Rozumek of the Organisation for Aid to Refugees (OPU) says that Chechens to whom Slovak authorities refuse to grant asylum and who are then returned, via the Ukraine, to the Russian Federation, face grave threats in their country of origin. Namely, they face the prospect of being killed, disappearing or being subject to inhumane treatment. Rozumek contrasts the Slovak approach with the situation in neighbouring Austria where Chechens applying for asylum do not encounter any problems. The Slovak Interior Ministry retorts that all refugees seeking asylum in Slovakia must prove that they have well-founded fears of being persecuted for racial, ethnic, religious, political or social reasons in their country of origin. An adverse or war-like situation in one's country of origin is not a sufficient reason to grant asylum, stresses Alena Koisova of the Interior Ministry's press department. She adds that if the EU obliged member states to offer temporary asylum to Chechen refugees, Slovakia would have no problem complying. "We already offered such temporary asylum to refugees from the former Yugoslavia between 1993 and 1999. However, in this case, the EU has thus far made no such appeal," explained Koisova. Nevertheless, various NGOs, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for example, often criticise Slovakia for its overly strict asylum policy. Moreover, many refugees from eastern Europe and Asia only apply for asylum in Slovakia formally in order to be able to later continue their journey westward. According to the migration office of the Slovak Interior Ministry, over the course of the last 14 years, only 574 people were granted asylum in Slovakia from a total number of 49,000 refugees. Eleven asylum-seekers have been successful this year so far. As of the end of November 856 people from Chechnya applied for asylum in Slovakia which is the largest of all groups of refugees. The second most numerous group were refugees from Moldova. Approximately 300 of them applied for asylum in Slovakia this year. dam/mr/rtj Senior Police Official Charged With Disappearance of Chechen Resident Created: 16.12.2005 MosNews The Chechen prosecutor's office has begun a criminal investigation against the head of a special police unit from the Khanty-Mansi autonomous district, in connection with the disappearance of a Chechen resident. A special police force commander named Prilepsky and his deputy Minin have been charged with an abuse of power and causing grievous bodily harm to Zelimkhan Murdalov, the Interfax news agency quoted the lawyer Stanislav Markelov representing Murdalov's father. Murdalov went missing in January 2002, the report said. His body has not been found. "Nobody any longer has any doubt that he is dead," Markelov said. Earlier, another special police officer, Sergei Lapin, was charged in connection with the case. Similar charges have now been brought against his commander and his deputy. Dec 16 2005 9:33PM Nerve gas may have caused poisoning of schoolgirls in Chechnya GROZNY. Dec 16 (Interfax) - A group of schoolchildren from the village of Starogladovskaya in Chechnya's Shelkovskaya district have been hospitalized with poisoning, possibly from a nerve agent, said Shelkovskaya district administration head Khusein Nutayev. "Four girls have been taken to the Grozny clinical hospital. Doctors have so far been unable to make a diagnosis," Nutayev told Interfax on Friday. "Our doctors have categorically ruled out food poisoning," he said. "Similar incidents happened earlier in the village of Staroshchedrinskaya, but the causes have never been established," Nutayev said. "I am firmly convinced that the incident might be the result of poisoning by a nerve agent or psychotropic substance," he said. 16.12.2005 Chechen Separatist Denied Amnesty RUSSIA, Moscow. The European Court for Human Rights accepted to review a complaint from the former Chechen separatist Zaur Musikhanov that the Russian courts rejected to give him amnesty in accordance with existing legal norms. For now Musikhanov is serving a nine-year prison sentence, reported his lawyer Stanislav Markelov on December 15. Markelov said that in 2002 Zaur Musikhanov, a resident of Urus-Martana, joined an illegal armed unit. This occurred after a missile explosion killed nine of his relatives, including a three year-old brother. Musikhanov did not participate in any fighting and after six months, in the beginning of 2003, decided to give himself up to officials. Such violations of the law as possession of arms, wearing illegal uniforms, and participating in an illegal armed unit fall under amnesty, Stanislav Markelov noted. Government representatives declared that Zaur Musikhanov will be amnestied if he joins armed units under the monitor of the Chechen government. Musikhanov was rejected and did not receive amnesty. He was charged only for possessing illegal uniforms and weapons and participating in banditry. In addition, Zaur Miskhanov was charged in depriving people of their freedom. While his detachment passed through a populated zone he allegedly held back two of his acquaintances. Markelov said that Musikhanov had indeed hid these people, fearing for their safety. Then they arrested his acquaintances after they testified against him. It is well-known that people arrested in Chechen are often forced by authorities to testify, the lawyer noted. Translated by Nate Young PRIMA-News Agency [2005-12-15-Rus-17] |