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May 15th 2005 · Prague Watchdog Ingush authorities dismantle flooded refugee camp By Ruslan Isayev INGUSHETIA – Ingush authorities have decided to dismantle yet another place for refugees from the neighbouring republic of Chechnya. The spontaneous refugee settlement Kolos, which has been in existence for about four years, is located on the edge of Karabulak village and houses more than 200 people. The settlement's wooden huts are situated next to a bridge and almost yearly the place is affected by summer floods. One week ago the annual flooding cycle was repeated wherein all the huts were inundated by water overflowing from the Sunzha River. The leaders of Ingushetia’s Migration Service offered the refugees alternative accomodation in a former kindergarten building, but they refused the offer. Akhmed Parchiyev, head of the Migration Service, told the refugees that Kolos no longer officially existed and, therefore, would be closed within a day or two. The settlement’s gas, water, and electricity has already been shut off so most refugees were prepared to leave, but only on condition that they receive at least minimally comfortable accommodations. Others were frightened of the floods returning and thus agreed to go, only to return to the Kolos settlement two days later. One refugee said he had taken three of his children to the room he had been allocated. “It was not even a room, but more like a cell; so I came back here. I’d rather live with the risk of flooding than in a room the size of a toilet.” IC-RCFS: Reports from the Chechen Republic (#1276-1282) PRESS-RELEASE #1276 FROM MAY 7, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Achkhoy-Martan district. Resident of Achkhoy-Martan is abducted On 5 May 2005 at daytime representatives of unidentified force agency abducted a resident of Achkhoy-Martan district center Said-Magomed Susaev (born 1983) when he was walking along one of the streets. Unidentified gunmen in camouflage who were riding in a car stopped him, hit him with butts of their machine guns several times, forced him get into their car and disappeared to an unknown destination. Some time later the same group of perpetrators seized the 6th-model “Zhiguli” car that belonged to Susaev. Today Susaev's relatives told a correspondent of the Information Center at the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society that they didn't know anything about the whereabouts and the fate of the abducted man. Meanwhile, today a ceremonial rally was held in the central square of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district center to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the victory over the fascist Germany. All the veterans of the World War II received gifts from the district administration. 9 May, that is the official Victory Day in Russia, is made a mourning day in the Chechen Republic as that day the Moscow-backed Chechen president Akhmat Kadyrov was killed in Grozny a year ago. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1277 FROM MAY 8, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Shatoy district. Abducted militiamen are released after being beaten up On 7 May 2005 two militiamen Visit Sapadaev and Zelimkhan Demilkhanov were released after they had been abducted in the Chechen Shatoy district a few days before. The men were found in one of the fields in Grozny rural district. The perpetrators left them there after they had beaten them up. Both released men could hardly move. The details of what happened to the militiamen when they were kept by the perpetrators still remain unknown. As the Information Center reported earlier, two militiamen of Shatoy district ROVD (police office) Sapadaev and Demilkhanov were abducted on 5 May at about afternoon on Shatoy-Grozny highway by reportedly representatives of some unidentified force agency who were riding in several cars. Meanwhile, the fate of Zura Israpilova, a daughter-in-law of the former head of Shatoy district administration, is still unknown. She was abducted on 5 may at about 3 pm from her own house in the village of Syuzhi by unidentifiable gunmen (see our release No 1274 from 6 May 2005). (From our correspondent) Contest of children’s art groups in the school of Shatoy On 7 May 2005 a contest of children’s art groups of Shatoy district was held at the secondary school situated in Shatoy district center. It was dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Victory over the fascist Germany. The art group of the Shatoy district school won the contest . (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1278 FROM MAY 11, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Grozny rural district. A girl died in a road accident in Straye Atagi On 11 May 2005 a GAZ-3110 “Volga” car collided with an armored retriever of the Russian federal forces on the highway not far from the village of Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district. As a result of the road accident a 14-year-old girl died at the place of the accident. Four more people who were riding in the car were badly injured. All of them were taken to hospital. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1279 FROM MAY 12, 2005 REPORT FROM INGUSHETIA “Kolos” refugee camp was damaged by flooding At night from 9 May to 10 May 2005 the flood struck a bigger part of the “Kolos” refugee camp for Chechen displaced people that is situated in Karabulak town of Ingushetia. It happened as the Sunzha River has overflown its banks. According to the testimonies of the residents of the camp, the flood struck it when all its residents were sleeping. When they were woken up by the noise of the coming water, they started to leave their houses. The people tried to reach the neighboring heights. The wind was squally and heavy rain was pouring. All in all, people had to spend five hours without any shelter. The level of water in the river had suddenly dropped by 8 am. However, the flood damaged the temporary dwellings of the displaced people and destroyed their poor belongings. The “Kolos” refugee camp is situated ten meters away from the Sunzha River and it is not protected with an earth embankment. In 2003 the entire territory of the camp was flooded. The water level inside temporary dwellings was 1 meter 20 centimeters. The residents of the camp escaped death by miracle. However, the majority of them lost all the property that they managed to save during military actions. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1280 FROM MAY 12, 2005 REPORT FROM THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Grozny rural district. A corpse of an abducted disabled resident of Duba-Yurt village is discovered 12.05.2005. Today in the village of Duba-Yurt of the Chechen Grozny rural district Said-Khusein Elmurzaev is to be reburied at the local cemetery. Elmurzaev was one of the abducted residents of this village. His corpse was discovered by people living in the settlement of Il’inovskaya of the Chechen Grozny rural district at its outskirts on 9 May. As the Information Center reported earlier (see our releases #1232 from 4 April 2005 and #1241 from 10 April 2005), a one-legged Said-Khusein Elmurzaev (born 1944) was abducted together with his son Sulim Elmurzaev (born 1978) by service personnel of some unidentified force agency on 1 April 2005. On 9 May Said-Khusein’s corpse bearing signs of violent death was discovered and buried by residents of Il’inovskaya settlement. Some time later relatives of the killed man recognized him in the photo taken before the burial. They also recognized his personal belongings. Sulim El’murzaev’s fate remains unknown. (From our correspondent) The military caused yesterday’s road accident near Starye Atagui On 12 May 2005. It is the crew of the military armored retriever that caused the road accident that happened yesterday not far from the village of Starye Atagui of the Chechen Grozny rural district. Service personnel of the prosecutor's office conducted fact-finding actions yesterday at the scene of the accident and they collected evidence of many eye-witnesses. According to the obtained information, at about 2 pm the military armored retriever was going along Grozny-Duba-Yurt highway at high speed as part of a motorized column and suddenly drove out on to the opposite lane. As a result, it collided with a “Volga” car. As we reported, a 14-year-old girl died on the spot and four more people in the “Volga” car were injured. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1281 FROM MAY 12, 2005 REPORT FROM THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Grozny. Death of driver of the “Volga” car that a military retriever bumped into yesterday May 12, 2005. Today in the 9th hospital of Grozny Mayrbek Khanukaev died, the driver of the “Volga” car that a military retriever bumped into not far from the village Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district at about 2 pm yesterday (see our releases #1278 from May 11, 2005 and #1280 from May 12, 2005). This is the second victim perished as a result of that road accident: as we reported before, a 14-year-old girl died on the scene of the accident. Three more passengers of the “Volga” car are still in hospital. Today the deputy prosecutor of the Chechen Republic Andrey Sergeychenko stated in his interview to the correspondent of the Information Center at the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society that the criminal case against the military who are guilty of the road accident was initiated referring to Article 350 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is the break of the road laws. The service personnel of the police office who conducted fact-finding actions think that the violation perpetrated by the military should be classified as murder or unintentional murder at law, though. However, according to the law the criminal case against the military is under jurisdiction of the military justice. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1282 FROM MAY 12, 2005 REPORT FROM THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Vedeno district. Abduction of a resident of the village of Oktyabr'skoye On 11 May 2005 at about 1 am a group of unidentifiable armed men in camouflage whose faces were covered with masks abducted a resident of the village of Oktyabr'skoye of the Chechen Vedeno district Turpal Gelanievich Isaev (born 1966) from his own house. As of today, his relatives know nothing about his whereabouts and fate. (From our correspondent) Landslips cut off the village of Elistanzhi As of the present time, landslips damaged the road going to the village of Elistanzhi of the Chechen Vedeno district and cut it off from the rest of the district. A big part pf the road was blocked on 10 May after steady torrential downpour. (From our correspondent) Tuesday, May 17, 2005. Issue 3167. Page 3. Critical Journalist Jailed for 2 Years The Moscow Times A Moscow journalist who wrote critical stories for a Chechen rebel news site was sentenced Monday to two years in a penal colony on charges that he illegally purchased a gun, his lawyer said. Moscow's Ostankinsky District Court sentenced Pavel Lyuzakov to serve out the sentence in a prison village -- a conviction that effectively amounts to internal exile, lawyer Anna Stavitskaya said. Lyuzakov was detained on Jan. 20 about five minutes after he bought the gun from a friend near the VDNKh metro station, she said. Lyuzakov said he thought the gun was a simple gas pistol. Human rights advocate Alexander Podrabinek said Lyuzakov could have angered authorities by contributing to the Kavkaz Center web site, which is hosted on servers abroad and Moscow has long sought to shut down. His stories were critical of the government's handling of the war in Chechnya. Another Moscow journalist who wrote for the web site left the country to avoid prosecution last year, Podrabinek said. Beslan relatives stall trial of Chechen militant Tue May 17, 2005 12:50 PM ET By Oliver Bullough MOSCOW (Reuters) - Distraught relatives of the 330 people killed in the Beslan crisis shouted down a Russian judge on Tuesday, forcing him to halt the trial of the only militant to survive the hostage-taking. Nurpashi Kulayev was dragged from a hiding place by Beslan residents after Russian forces stormed the school and turned the siege into a bloodbath. Half the victims were children. Parents said they wanted to see officials who allowed the group of 32 rebels to reach the school face justice, not just 24-year-old Kulayev, who could be sentenced to life in jail if convicted on murder, terrorism and other charges. "I would ask you to stay, I would like to talk to you," RIA Novosti news agency quoted judge Tamerlan Aguzarov as telling shouting relatives as he pleaded with them to calm down. He adjourned the trial, which had already been delayed by local lawyers' reluctance to defend Kulayev, until Thursday. Kulayev says he never killed anyone, but admitted he was one of the militants who drove into the town on Sept. 1, the first day of term, and took more than 1,000 hostages in a bid to force Russia to withdraw from its southern Chechnya region. "ONLY TERRORIST LEFT ALIVE" Television showed relatives holding pictures of the victims inside the court in Vladikavkaz, capital of Russia's North Ossetia region and 20 km (13 miles) from Beslan. Other relatives, women in headscarves and men in flat caps, stood silently outside. "All the guilt is being put on Kulayev, as the only terrorist left alive. There was no mention of the officials. You could see this in the case today, we will not swallow lies," said Susanna Dudiyeva who lost her son in the tragedy, and now heads the "Beslan mothers" pressure and support group. "I derive no satisfaction from (seeing him on trial). My son is dead, and I am angry the state had to kill 330 people to destroy 32 guerrillas," she said by telephone after returning to her home in Beslan. Prosecutors were quoted by local media as saying Kulayev's trial could be the first of five against militants linked to the bloodiest attack on civilians in the 10 years of Chechen separatists' efforts to overthrow Russian rule. No major officials have been punished for failing to prevent the raid, and North Ossetian leader Alexander Dzasokhov remains in his job. Nikolai Shepel, Russia's deputy general prosecutor, said troops had killed other militants involved in the attack -- which Russia says was organized by Chechen leaders Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov. "Around a dozen people were killed resisting arrest, including Abu-Dzheit (an Arab fighter) and Maskhadov. I think we'll reach Basayev," he said, according to Interfax news agency. Kulayev could theoretically face the death penalty, but Russia has imposed a moratorium on executions. Interfax reported the case could take three to four months to complete. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 14/5/2005 Public organisation leader becomes 'pre-holiday clean-up' victim Igor Shakhmurzayev, chairman of the regional office of the Conceptual Party Unity, has been missing since late April. The missing man's elder brother Lema Shakhmurzayev, a public figure well-known in the republic and beyond, director of the Lamast Institute of the Political Culture of the Chechen Society, told Caucasian Knot by phone that Igor Shakhmurzayev had been abducted by military men back on 27 April 2005. The interlocutor says the 37-year-old Igor Shakhmurzayev and his distant relative Raibek Mukushev, b. 1978, must have been abducted late on 27 April. "They lived in Grozny, in a private house at 22 Chekhov St. I was there in the afternoon on 27 April and talked to Igor. The next day in the morning when I came for them, I learnt the military had abducted them," he says. Lema Shakhmurzayev believes his younger brother and Raibek Mukushev must have become victims of a 'pre-holiday clean-up': "The military then announced some 'pre-emptive activities' in Grozny on the eve of the forthcoming celebrations, so Igor and Raibek most probably became victims of one such 'special operation.'" He said a criminal case was opened in Chechnya in connection with the abduction of Igor Shakhmurzayev and Raibek Mukushev. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 17/5/2005 St Petersburg authorities discriminate against human rights defenders Scheduled for 15 May, a picket against war in Chechnya, one of those regularly held by the St Petersburg Antiwar Committee at Nevskii Avenue at Malaya Koniushennaia St, was prohibited. This is what one of the organisers, Piotr Raush, told Caucasian Knot by phone. He said the administration of the city's Central district banned the picket under the pretext of "exceeding the standard maximum admitting value" of the place where the picket was to be held. In the opinion of the district officials, no more than 15 people should gather in this place. About 30 participants in the picket against war in Chechnya still came to the usual place and stood there from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm without unfolding their placards. A commercial advertising action was running on the patch they had been prohibited from that attracted more than 100 people. The authorities thus discriminated against the picketers, appearing to violate the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders that says, "Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels," etc. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 17/5/2005 Women targeted in Chechnya Chechnya's law enforcement agencies are searching for three young girls, sisters Magomadov, who have been missing since 12 May, the republican Internal Affairs Ministry told Caucasian Knot. There is still no knowing of the circumstances of their disappearance. "The sisters Magomadov, resident in Gikalo (several kilometres south of Grozny), went out of doors in the morning on 12 May and have since been missing, according to our information. Neither their relatives, nor their neighbours or friends know where they can be. We have no specific versions of what could happen yet. Measures are taken to find the missing sisters," an Internal Affairs Ministry officer said. They youngest of the sisters Magomadov is barely 16. The two other sisters are 22 and 24. Residents of Gikalo take part in the search along with law enforcement personnel. May 18th 2005 · Prague Watchdog Dozens killed, dozens kidnapped in Chechnya this year, Memorial states By Ruslan Isayev NAZRAN, Ingushetia – 54 people have been killed in the monitored part of Chechnya since the beginning of 2005. Of these, 27 were civilians, 12 were law enforcement officials, 10 were members of resistance units, and 5 were persons unknown. This data has been published by the Russian human rights center “Memorial”. Altogether since mid-2000, 3088 people have been killed. The human rights workers are at pains to point out that this data comes from the monitoring of 25-30 percent of the republic’s territory, and so the overall figures will be higher. In 2005 the number of people abducted has exceeded those who were killed. Thus, over this same period of the current year the human rights workers have recorded 74 cases of abduction. Of these people, 34 were released or ransomed, 2 were found dead, while so far there is no news of 36 others, and 2 cases are under investigation. Also, since 2002, 1553 cases of abduction have been recorded. Of these people, 485 were ransomed or freed, 159 were found dead, 889 disappeared, and 10 cases are under investigation. Commenting on these figures, Usam Baysayev, a worker at the Nazran office of “Memorial”, said that the overall figures are far higher. “The fact is that we chiefly record the cases that are well known. There are regions of Chechnya where monitoring is not carried out. These are the mountain districts and the northern regions. So it can be said with certainty that all these figures are considerably higher than the ones we have,” Baysayev noted. Translated by David McDuff.