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Amnesty International Nov 8, 2005 Russian Federation "Disappearances" and abductions in the Chechen Republic: Thousands of Chechens are believed to have been "disappeared" or abducted since the outbreak of the second conflict in the autumn of 1999. The Russian non-governmental organization (NGO) Memorial has estimated that between 3,000 and 5,000 people have gone missing in the Chechen Republic following what they term as abductions, arbitrary arrests and detentions since 1999 when the second Chechen conflict began. Memorial emphasizes that their statistics are based on research conducted in about one-third of the territory of the Chechen Republic, and therefore may not represent the full extent of the violations. Moreover the pervading atmosphere of fear in the region, leading to many people being reluctant to come forward, the preference in many cases of relatives to attempt to secure the safe return of their relatives through unofficial channels and the extremely dangerous conditions for independent monitors such as journalists and human rights defenders attempting to research the situation, means that there is an underreporting of cases of "disappearance" and abductions. Many men and women were taken away from their homes during so-called "zachistki" (military raids), allegedly conducted to check the identity documents of people in a village or district, during which whole villages were surrounded for days at a time and Russian troops, sometimes accompanied by Chechen security forces, went from house to house, conducting searches, checking identity documents and detaining people. Large scale raids on villages and towns by Russian and Chechen security forces, which were common during the first two years of the armed conflict have ceased but there continue to be regular reports about targeted operations in Chechnya, which mostly take place at night, usually by armed men, in camouflage and often masked, who often arrive in a large number of military vehicles of which the identification plates are covered, and in which one or more people are taken away in an unknown direction. In some cases the individuals are released within a few days, in other cases they remain missing, and in some cases their bodies are found bearing signs of a violent death. It can be difficult to attribute responsibility for these crimes. The language that the armed men speak – Russian, Chechen, Ingush – the type of vehicles used, and if unmasked, their appearance, are often the only indications of their identity. The procuracy open criminal investigations under Article 126 of the Russian Criminal Code ("abduction") but almost always the investigations fail to identify those individuals responsible or the crimes are attributed to actions by armed opposition groups. While it may be difficult to establish who is responsible for the abductions, in many cases, circumstances indicate that Russian federal forces or Chechen security forces were responsible for what was in fact a "disappearance", or an abduction by or with the support of state officials, and there have been a number of statements attributed to officials that confirm this. In an interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia on 28 March 2003 an unnamed officer, working for the department of military intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, admitted that the Russian federal forces had turned to such methods in order to avoid control by the procuracy. While claiming that these raids in the night are necessary tools in the armed conflict which Russia describes as "war against terror", he admitted: "sometimes innocent people end up in this…. And when we find out the truth, it turns out it is too late to correct something, the person is already gone."(1) Russian federal forces include the Vostok (East) and Zapad ("West") battalions, which are part of the Russian federal Ministry of Defence’s 42nd Motorized Infantry Division, and are permanently deployed in Chechnya. Their members, who are ethnic Chechens, are alleged to be responsible for serious human rights violations, including "disappearances". On 6 May 2005, the Chechen President, Alu Alkhanov, was reported to have stated that in some cases, people that had been reported as missing had in fact been held as suspects in criminal inquiries by a certain subunit of the security forces, although he did not clarify who had carried out the detentions in these cases. He reportedly presented this as an explanation for confusion over whether someone was missing or not. Alu Alkhanov is said to have stated that "the percentage of people who are detained by federal forces for committing terrorist acts or other grave crimes and who later go missing, has also decreased today several times… the number of such incidents among missing people in general is about 5 to 10 per cent".(2) Increasingly Chechen security forces have also been implicated in "disappearances". Some of the "disappearances" by Chechen security forces in 2004 and 2005 are alleged to have been carried out by the so-called Kadyrovtsy, who are effectively under the command of Ramzan Kadyrov, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya. Amnesty International is aware of allegations that members of security forces under the control of Ramzan Kadyrov have been drawn from criminal groups. Concerns have been raised as well about the establishment of so-called Anti-Terror-Centres, which have been set up since 2004 in several villages or towns in Chechnya. It has been alleged that members of these centres have been involved in human rights violations, including "disappearances". The so-called "oil regiment", a Chechen security force, formerly part of the Security Service of the President of the Chechen Republic, and headed by Adam Delimkhanov, has also reportedly been implicated in "disappearances". Amnesty International is opposed to the "disappearance" of prisoners and detainees in all cases, irrespective of the reasons for their detention and seeks an immediate end to all "disappearances". AI also condemns abductions and hostage-taking by armed opposition groups. All people held in detention have the right to have their physical and mental integrity respected and protected, to have their detention properly logged and formerly acknowledged, to be promptly informed of the charges against them, and to be granted prompt access to relatives, legal counsel and medical treatment. Whenever people are held in unacknowledged detention, the risk of their being ill-treated, tortured and extrajudicially killed is increased. ******** (1) http://www.izvestia.ru/politic/article31814, also quoted in Amnesty International, Russian Federation: Chechen Republic "Normalization" in whose eyes? (AI Index: EUR 46/027/2004) (2) Reuters, Russian troops carry out 10 pct of Chechen kidnaps, 6 May 2005 and Interfax, Twenty-three missing in Chechnya since start of year – president, 6 May 2005 http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGEUR460502005 November 7, 2005, Monday More than one hundred people lost in Chechnya during the last month On Wednesday, Russian law enforcers voiced the sensational information about lost and stolen people in Chechnya. According to the data of non-governmental organizations Chechen Council, (which is in charge of law enforcement activity in the territory of the republic), 116 people were lost in October. Among them there are 10 women, 3 policemen, two kids aged 7 and 12, 5 under age teenagers and a 70-year old man. Two of the lost were found dead. Several people were released. The fate of the majority of lost is unknown. Official Chechen powers deny this information and treat it like an open provocation. Source: Novye Izvestia, November 3, 2005, p. 2 November 07, 2005 Amnesty International Nov 8, 2005 Russian Federation The case of Aslan Akhmadov Aslan Pavlovich Akhmadov (born 1979) was detained on the morning of 6 March 2002 outside his house in Starye Atagi, Chechen Republic. On that day reportedly Russian federal forces were conducting a raid on the village, in order to check passports. Aslan Akhmadov and several other men were taken away, reportedly in order to verify their passports. Since than five men from the village, including Aslan Akhmadov have been "disappeared". His family has no information about his whereabouts and wellbeing. Reportedly following further raids by Russian federal forces on the village in March 2002 the General Procuracy of the Russian Federation ordered the establishment of a special commission to investigate violations of Russian law which had occurred during the raids, including the "disappearance" of at least 10 men. However, the commission has been unable to establish the fate and wellbeing of Aslan Akhmadov. His family together with other families from the village appealed to the European Court of Human Rights. Since then Amnesty International has learned that the Akhmadov family as well as other families in the village have been subjected to further human rights violations (see "The Risk of Speaking Out" AI Index: EUR 46/059/2004) and to harassment from the side of the authorities. Amnesty International met with members of the family who told, among other incidents, about a raid by men in masks and camouflage on their house in June 2004, during which Aslan Akhmadov’s brothers and his father were beaten and his mother and sister were verbally abused. The family is determined to go on looking for Aslan Pavlovich Akhmadov and to seek justice for the human rights violations they have been subjected to. Aslan’s sister, Lisa Pavlovna Akhmadova, told Amnesty International that she will continue to write appeals on behalf of her brother and other members of her family until her hands can not write anymore, until all the world knows about the fate of her family. Please write to the Russian authorities; - Expressing concern about the fate and well-being of Aslan Akhmadov and urging the authorities to release any information they may have about his whereabouts. - Expressing concern about the alleged ill-treatment of the relatives of Aslan Akhmadov in June 2004. - Urging to thoroughly and effectively investigate the circumstances of Aslan Akhamdov’s "disappearance" and to bring to justice in a court of law, those found responsible. - Urging the immediate release of Aslan Akhmadov if he is being held by law enforcement officials or for him to be charged with a recognizable criminal offence and be given access to a lawyer of his choice and his family. ******** http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGEUR460492005 http://www.newsru.com/russia/12nov2005/poh.html New kidnappings in Chechnya - two people have disappeared In Chechnya, as a result of the armed robbery attack in the villige of Dolinskoye of the Grozny district, two people have been abducted and their motor vehicle in which they were driving was stolen. They reported Interfax on Saturday morning in the Grozny ROVD that the day before in the village of Dolinskoye a group of armed persons with automatic submachine guns, in camouflage uniforms and in masks under the guise of checking documents stopped a VAZ-21099 car, in which local residents - Islam Muzayev and Apti Sabayev were driving. With threat of the use of weapons they forcefully moved them into their machines and have taken them away in the unknown direction. In the police they noted that the criminals took also possession of the motor vehicle, which belongs the abductees. Operational measures taken for the search for those disappeared without a trace and the detention of these persons who participated in their abduction so far have given no results. In the MVD they recalled that previously minister of Internal Affairs of the Chechen republic Ruslan Alkhanov has given order to take stricts measure for those, who appear on the streets of Grozny and its populated area in masks, to open fire without warning. In the ROVD they also emphasized that this hostage taking by the unidentified people wearing masks occurred for the first time in the last several months in this area.. Human Rights Watch Says Nalchik Suspects Ill-Treated 18 November 2005 (RFE/RL) -- The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch group today accused Russian security forces of using ill treatment to coerce confessions from suspects detained over last month's militant raid on Nalchik, the capital of Kabardino-Balkariya. HRW says in a statement it has collected evidence that at least eight detainees were subjected to ill-treatment that, in some cases, "may amount to torture." HRW singles out the case of Rasul Kudaev, a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, who was arrested after the 13 October attack. HRW quotes Kudaev's lawyer as saying her client was severely beaten in detention and could not walk when she saw him three weeks ago. Russian prosecutors have admitted to arresting some 50 people for their alleged participation in the attack. But rights campaigners in Kabardino-Balkariya say the number of detainees is much higher. Officially, the Nalchik attack claimed nearly 140 lives, including those of 12 civilians. Court rejects appeal of Chechens who won case in Strasbourg MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Supreme Court of Russia has rejected an appeal lodged by convicted Chechen terrorists who had earlier won a case against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the courtroom Wednesday. The judges upheld the prison sentences ranging from nine to 15 years that were originally handed down by the Chechen Supreme Court. Rizvan Visitov, Khusein Khadzhiyev, Abdul-Vakhab Shamayev, and others were detained in Georgia in 2002 and later extradited to Russia. On April 13, 2005, the European Court of Human Rights ruled partially in favor of Shamayev and 12 others Chechens. The court ruled that Russia had violated a number of articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, failing to ensure "an effective remedy" and an individual trial for the extradited Chechens, and had refused to cooperate with the Strasbourg court on the case. The court also ruled that Russia should pay moral damages to the plaintiffs ranging from 2,500 to 11,000 euros and cover their court expenses. (***) Pavel Laptev, a Russian representative to the European Court, said he would appeal the ruling calling it "biased, politically motivated, and based on double standards." Lawyers for the Chechens said that the Chechen court had not questioned their witnesses during the hearings. They also said violence was used against their clients during preliminary investigations. Meanwhile, prosecutors have denied the reports of violence, saying the Chechens had provided evidence in the presence of their lawyers. Visitov, Khadzhiyev, Shamayev and others attempted to illegally cross the Russian-Georgian border in July 2002 in order to carry out terrorist acts in Russia. Eight border guards were killed and seven wounded in the ensuing armed clash. Amnesty International Russian Federation Appeal Case Update 2: The killing of six civilians near Dai, Chechen Republic AI Index: EUR 46/045/2005 Update to EUR 46/016/2005 from 1 May 2005 and EUR 46/019/2005 from 25 May 2005 7 November 2005 Amnesty International continues to be deeply concerned that impunity for serious human rights violations and war crimes committed in the context of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic prevails. A court in the southern Russian town of Rostov-on-Don has twice found four members of the Russian military intelligence unit (GRU) not responsible in law for killing six civilians in January 2002 near the village of Dai, Chechen Republic. Following the two acquittals the Russian Supreme Court sent back the case for retrial to the same court in the Southern Russian town of Rostov-on-Don, where a third hearing will start in November 2005. The Chechen families, whose relatives were killed by Eduard Ulman, Aleksandr Perelevskii, Aleksandr Kalaganskii and Vladimir Voevodin, appealed against the previous decisions by the court in Rostov-on-Don. One of the grounds for appeal was the composition of the jury, which consisted solely of ethnic Russians, thereby failing to represent the ethnic diversity of the North Caucasus. The families of those killed as well as Russian human rights rganizations have urged the court to include representatives of different ethnic groups from the North Caucasus in the jury. While awaiting the new trial the four men have not been suspended from their posts in the GRU. According to the lawyer for the families, the majority of the witnesses in the case against the men are serving in the same unit. Background Said Alaskhanov, Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova and Dzhamlail Musaev (sometimes referred to as Magomed Musaev), six civilians from Chechnya, died on 11 January 2002 after being shot by members of a special unit of the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU). In April 2004 Captain Eduard Ulman, Lieutenant Aleksander Kalaganskii, Sergeant Vladimir Voevodin and the deputy commander of the unit, Major Alexei Perelevskii, were acquitted of the charge of premeditated murder, premeditated destruction of property, and exceeding official duties. In 2004, the court had heard hat while checking cars on the road between the villages of Shatoi and Dai, Captain Eduard Ulman ordered his men to open fire on a civilian car after the driver ignored a request to stop. One passenger, Said Alaskhanov, director of a village school, was killed immediately from the gunfire, and two of the five passengers were wounded. According to the prosecution, the men under the command of Captain Eduard Ulman took the five surviving civilians, Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, deputy director of the local school, Shakhban Bakhaev, a forester, Khamzat Tuburov, the driver of the vehicle, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova, a pregnant mother of seven and Dzhamlail Musaev, to a nearby abandoned farm building. They administered first aid to the wounded, and detained them there while Captain Ulman reported the incident to Major Alexei Perelevskii by radio, who forwarded the report to the commander of the military unit, who remained unidentified. The court found that Major Aleksei Perelevskii then passed back to Captain Eduard Ulman a message by radio from the commander of the military unit, ordering him to eliminate the detained civilians. Captain Eduard Ulman passed on this order to his subordinates. According to the prosecution, Captain Ulman ordered his subordinates to tell the five individuals that they were free to leave, and then to shoot them as they walked away. Aleksandr Kalaganskii and Vladimir Voevodin carried out the order and shot and killed Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov and Zainap Dzhavatkhanova, put their bodies in the car and set it on fire. Dzhamlail Musaev reportedly escaped but died later from his injuries. In May 2004 Captain Eduard Ulman, Lieutenant Alexander Kalaganskii, Sergeant Vladimir Voevodin and the deputy commander of the unit, Major Alexei Perelevskii, were acquitted of the charges of premeditated murder, premeditated destruction of property, and exceeding official authority. Following an order for retrial from the Military Collegiate of the Supreme Court, on 19 May 2005 the men were again found not guilty by a jury at the same court. Despite admitting that they had shot the unarmed civilians in May 2004, Eduard Ulman, Alexander Kalaganskii, Vladimir Voevodin and the deputy commander of the unit, Alexei Perelevskii, were acquitted of the charges of premeditated murder, premeditated destruction of property, and exceeding official authority. Following an order for retrial from the Military Collegiate of the Supreme Court, on 19 May 2005 the men were again found not guilty by a jury at the same court. Following protests from human rights organizations and authorities in the North Caucasus, the Military Collegiate of the Russian Supreme Court in August 2005 quashed the acquittal for the second time. Recommended Action: Please continue to send appeals in Russian or your own language: - expressing deep concern about the repeated acquittals of Captain Eduard Ulman, Lieutenant Aleksander Kalaganskii, Sergeant Vladimir Voevodin and Major Alexei Perelevskii; - expressing deep concern that the commander of the unit, who reportedly gave the order to kill unarmed detained civilians, was never prosecuted for this crime; - stating that wilful killing, and the order that there shall be no survivors, constitute serious breaches of the laws of war according to the Geneva Conventions and its Protocol II and that the Russian Federation, as a High Contracting Party, has an obligation to prosecute all persons suspected of commissioning or committing these crimes; - stating that international human rights law as well as Russian law, including Article 42 of the Russian Criminal Code, does not relieve a person of her or her criminal responsibility even when the crime has been committed pursuant to an order; - pointing out that the killings of Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova and Dzamlail Musaev are in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the right to life), to which Russia is a party, and that the use of lethal force in the death of Said Alaskhanov raises serious concerns under Article 2; - condemning the ongoing grave and systematic human rights abuses in the Chechen Republic, and calling on the Russian authorities to take immediate steps to end such violations, including extrajudicial executions, unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, "disappearances" and torture, including rape, and ill-treatment. - urging that all judges, in particular judges in military courts, are made fully aware of international human rights and humanitarian law principles, and the rules that apply to it. APPEALS TO: (Fax machines may be switched off outside office hours – GMT+3) President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN Kreml, Moscow, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 206 85 10 / +7 095 206 51 73 / +7 095 230 24 08 (if someone answers say "fax please") e-mail: Please go to the website of the President of the Russian Federation and paste your letter into the space provided: http://president.kremlin.ru/eng/articles/send_letter_Eng1a.shtml Salutation: Dear President Putin Procurator General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir USTINOV Ul. B. Dimitrovka 15a, 125993 Moscow, GSP-3, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 292 8848 (if someone answers say "fax please") Salutation: Dear Procurator General Chief Military Procurator of the Russian Federation, Let.-Gen. Aleksandr SAVENKOV pereulok Khulzunova, 14, 103160 Moscow, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 247 50 19 (if someone answers say "fax please") Salutation: Dear Chief Military Procurator COPIES TO: Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 207 76 30 Ella Pamfilova, Chair of the Presidential Council for the development of civil society institutions and human rights Fax: +7 095 206 48 55 Maj.-Gen. Anatolii Petrochenkov, Chairman of the Military Collegium of the Russian Supreme Court Fax: +7 095 293 55 84 Sergey Borisovich Ivanov, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Fax: + 7 095 293 83 98 and to diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation accredited to your country. ******** http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGEUR460452005 Russia considers NGO restrictions By Emma Simpson BBC News, Moscow Nov.09, 2005 Russia's state Duma is considering new rules which would force all non-governmental organizations to re-register within a year. NGOs fear the changes could be used to restrict their activities or to close them down altogether. The move comes after allegations by senior Russian officials that NGOs helped foment democratic revolutions in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. It is not clear what chance the bill has of becoming law without changes. Despite this, the draft has foreign NGOs worried. If passed in its current form, it will mean that all not-for-profit groups would need to register with a state commission which would have the power to scrutinize their work and their financing. According to several NGOs here in Moscow, this means the authorities could have the power to effectively ban any groups whose activities they do not approve of. Control A spokesman for Human Rights Watch said that his organization would no longer be allowed to have a representative office or branch in Russia. Instead, they would have to re-register as a new financially independent association - a condition that some NGOs would find difficult to meet. Human Rights Watch described the proposals as "another step in the control of civil society". But one of the bill's sponsors said the purpose was to improve financial oversight. For instance, the new law would help prevent money laundering. But it is clear that there is another motive: the Russian government wants to crack down on politically active NGOs that receive foreign funding for fear that the money might be used to promote an "orange revolution" here. Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin said he would not tolerate foreign money being used to finance political activities. O P E N L E T T E R To: M.A. Kelimatov, Prosecutor of the Republic of Ingushetia, RF, Via facsimile + 7 (873) 222 15 76 or 222-17-24 Head of the North Caucasus Department of the Prosecutor General's Office, Yessentuki , Via facsimile + 7(8793) 460 700 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 Council under the President of the RF, Via facsimile +7 (095) 206-48-55 Vienna, 10 November 2005 Re. “Disappearance” of Ilez Khamhoev and Magomed-Ali Barakhoev, and Ruslan Yandiev on 29 September 2005 in Nazran, Ingushetia Dear Prosecutor Kelimatov, I am writing to you on behalf of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) regarding the "disappearances" of three men from a construction site in Nazran, Ingushetia. The three men, Ilez Khamhoev (born 1972), Magomed-Ali Barakhoev (born 1970), and Ruslan Yandiev (born 1982) were kidnapped on 29 September 2005. The IHF urges you to locate the "disappeared" persons, to investigate the apparently illegal circumstances of their "disappearances", and to bring to justice the perpetrators, also if turn out to be members of the Ingush police. ********************* On 29 September 2005 around 9:30, in Nazran (Ingushetia) three men (two construction workers and a neighbor of the construction site) were kidnapped from the site of a building that is under construction in Moskovski street, by a group of unknown armed people in masks and camouflage, who did not show any Ids but seemed to be from the police (militia): · Ilez Khamhoev (born 1972), from the Ingush village Alkun, temporarily living in Nazran, Chechenskaya street 4 · Magomed-Ali Barakhoev (born 1970), inhabitant of the Ingush village Galashki, · Ruslan Yandiev (born 1982), inhabitant of Nazran, Moscovski street 19/3 Khamhoev and Barakhoev worked on the construction site, while Yandiev lives in the immediate neighborhood and came to visit Barakhoev. Eyewitnesses saw, how two cars arrived at the construction site. One car was a VAZ-2107, had claret color with the plate number 586 МР95, and the other was a VAZ-21099 with metallic color and a plate with an 06 at the end of the plate. The masked people jumped out of their cars, and ran to the caravan, where Khamhoev, Barakhoev and Yandiev were working at that moment. Having burst into caravan, the unknown persons immediately began to beat Khamhoev. Then they pushed him to the street, and then into the trunk of a VAZ-2107. The other two, Barakhoev and Yandiev, were forced into the other car. All three were taken away in an unknown direction. Some other construction workers asked the armed men, what is the reason why they take away these people. They received as an answer "if you wish to learn, then come with us". According to the wife of Ilez Khamhoev, Zarema Khamhoeva, on the morning of 29 September 2005, when she talked on the phone to her husband at the construction site, she heard that someone ordered her husband in Russian language to switch off the phone, followed by an obscene curse. Then she heard a noise like of a struggle, as if her husband was subdued by someone else, and the communication broke off. When she then tried to dial her husband’s number, his phone had already been switched off. On 8 November the relatives of the three kidnapped men have addressed all law enforcement bodies of Ingushetia, but are afraid that this will not help. ********************* We appeal to you to find the whereabouts of the "disappeared" Ilez Khamknoev (born 1972), Magomed-Ali Barakhoev (born 1970), and Ruslan Yandiev (born 1982), and to ensure that they are released immediately by those who hold them, or to provide a legal arrest warrant stating the reasons for their detention, which then also has to be communicated to the family members of them. In either case we appeal to you to conduct a thorough investigation of the apparently illegal conduct of the operation. We will be grateful if you will inform us about the investigation of this case. Sincerely, Aaron Rhodes (Executive Director) cc Council of Europe, Mr. Rudolf Bindig, Chechnya-Rapporteur for the PACE Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights; Mr. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances European Union, Personal Representative for Human Rights in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Mr Michael Matthiessen European Parliament, EU-Russia Parliamentary Co-operation Committee; Subcommittee on Human Rights OSCE Delegations National Helsinki Committees __________________________________________ Joachim Frank, Project Coordinator International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights Wickenburggasse 14/7 A-1080 Vienna Tel. +43-1-408 88 22 ext. 22 Fax: +43-1-408 88 22 ext. 50 Web: http://www.ihf-hr.org ______________________________________ eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 1/11/2005 'Clean-up' numbers soar in Chechnya At dawn on 1 November, federal forces blocked the Valerik village, Achkhoi-Martan district (in the southwest of Chechnya). A so-called "passport regime check" or "clean-up" is being conducted in the settlement. According to the information available, the "clean-up" is a large-scale one. The military is conducting a house-to-house check of the people's ID documents. In doing so, special attention is paid to young men. There is no information about any incidents in the course of these "special operations" though. Meanwhile, residents of the republic indicate that the number of "clean-ups" in Chechnya's settlements has grown dramatically. Thus, "large-scale clean-ups" were conducted in the temporary accommodation point for internally displaced persons in the Oktiabrskii district of Grozny and the village of Olkhzar-Kiotar (Alkhazurovo), Urus-Martan district, on 31 October. A similar "special operation" was also conducted in this village on 29 October. There was a "clean-up" in Samashki, Achkhoi-Martan district, the day before. And law enforcement / security agencies were "cleaning up" Aldy in Grozny's Zavodskoi district on 27 October. Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent http://www.newsru.com/russia/06nov2005/nalch.html (quick tr. by M.L.) Mass arrests continue in Nalchik - attorneys tell about tortures 6 November 2005, 10:57 last update: 6 November 2005, 19:02 Mass zachistkas have been going on for the last three weeks. Local attorneys speak on this with anxiety. They assert that in recent weeks police and FSB interrogated not less than two thousand people reports the Ekho Moskvy radio station. The searches for those who organized the attack on the city and participated in it continue. Arrests are taking place on the daily basis. According to the attorneys, many people are being detained and beaten. Muslims are being persecuted; described in her interview radio Svoboda attorney from Nalchik Larissa Dorogova. According to her, people are being dragged out from their houses, taken away, tortured. Many of them, asserts the lawyer, who speak about tortures and mockeries are simply in fear. Interrogations go without any attorneys until investigators obtain statements needed for them. Dorogova asserts that the bodies of people, who die during tortures are being put on the railroad cars, where bulk of corpses is stored. In Nalchik already for three weeks are going on actions of mothers, fathers and wives of those, whom the authorities charge with the attack in Nal'chik. People asked to return them the bodies of those who were killed. However, their requests remain without any answer, although not one trial proved yet that those killed were the terrorists. The day before it became known that in Kabardino-Balkaria has disappeared prominent activist Ruslan Nakhushev. He was summoned on Friday for questioning into the FSB, and nothing has been known since then about him. Nakhushev heads the institute of Islamic studies. The police suspects some of its colleagues of the organization of attack in Nalchik. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 7/11/2005 Persecution of killed rebels' relatives must be stopped - Memorial The Human Rights Centre Memorial has filed an address to the president of Russia, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation, and the chairman of the presidential Council for the Promotion of Civil Society Institutes and Human Rights with a demand that they should immediately take all possible steps to stop human rights violations in Kabardino-Balkaria on the part of district government officials and law enforcement and security agencies. "In response to the rebel attack, the government in Kabardino-Balkaria has staked on mass violations of the Russian Constitution, on state terror, and on provocation of interethnic strains," a Memorial press release says. The document indicates that the government conducted a campaign to organise meetings of community residents and members of staff of various enterprises and organisations in the Zolskoye district of Kabardino-Balkaria in the second half of October. Copies of the minutes of five such meetings have been provided to Caucasian Knot by Novaya Gazeta newspaper observer Anna Politkovskaia. The agenda of all the meetings was the same: "Discussion of the terrorist acts in Nalchik on 13 October 2005." Each of the corresponding conclusions is about deportation, according to Memorial's information: "Deport from the republic all those who have something to do with Wahhabism, together with their families" (the village of Etoko); "Once investigation activities have been completed and law enforcement agencies have summarised their operations, deport all members of the extremist, Wahhabi movement and their families resident in the village of Zalukokoazhe"; "Ask the president and government of the republic to deport supporters of Wahhabism with their families from the village" (the meeting of the staff of the Zolskoye post office). Aside from residents of Kabardino-Balkaria, participants in the meeting also asked to deport natives of Chechnya from the region: "Address the President of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria with a request to deport Chechens from the Republic" (the village of Etoko); "Address the President of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and the Parliament with a request to prohibit registration of citizens from hotspots in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and revise the lawfulness of registration of such citizens since 1991" (the village of Zalukokoazhe). According to Memorial, in each of the conclusions it is all about restricting the right of Russian citizens to select the place of residence, sometimes on an ethnic basis: "Ask the government of the republic to prohibit registration of citizens arriving from other republics (the village of Svetlovodskoye). "Ask the government and the president of the republic to prevent registration of persons of other ethnicities in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria" (the meeting of the staff of the Zolskoye post office). In their address, the human rights defenders say that the government also promotes demands of restricting citizens' religious rights: "Establish a schedule for the village mosque to work once in a week for one hour to perform the Friday prayer. Prohibit all Wahhabi manifestations such as wearing clothes alien to us, wearing a beard, or performing Wahhabi rites" (the village of Zalukokoazhe). In the opinion of the human rights defenders, these demands do not represent the will of the public, but are initiated by the government of Kabardino-Balkaria. "As a rule, the meetings of community residents were chaired by local heads of administration, while the boards included the district head of administration, the chief of the District Division of Internal Affairs, the district prosecutor, and the chief of the Federal Security Service Division for the Zolskoye district," according to Memorial's press release. "Superiors did not only gather people, but also dictated to them what exactly they should demand," the human rights defenders emphasise in the address. The open letter next quotes an excerpt from the speech of Khasan Z. Makhotlov, head of administration in the Zolskoye district, which he delivered in Zalukokoazhe: "...We are conducting this activity on the initiative of the administration, although you should have demanded it by yourselves by gathering in front of the district administration. ...Why don't you say that they must not be among us? Why don't you express your opinion? ...Ten people from among the killed terrorists are from our district, the ones that have presently been established. ...Eight people have currently officially been detained. Their evidence will help find other participants in the terrorist act too. I would like to hear proposals from villagers concerning whether or not we will live together with them. They have a law that their remaining family members will revenge for those killed. And they are quite a few. They work at hospital, at the elementary school, and other places. Would you like to work with them? ... Members of staff will have to decide if they will work side by side with terrorists' family members..." After this speech, according to Memorial, the conclusion of the meeting included a demand that staffs should "decide on the work of members of the families of the terrorists who took part in the bandit attack on the city of Nalchik." Control of how it was fulfilled was entrusted to the local head of administration. "Local heads of administration and media chiefs signed under such conclusions that do not only appeal for, but demand that officials should begin to violate the Russian law," the human rights defenders say. "And neither the district prosecutor, nor the chiefs of the internal affairs division and the district division of the Federal Security Service said a word in protest against that. They were not just participants, but organisers of this bacchanalia of lawlessness." November 14th 2005 · Prague Watchdog One-fifth of all newborn Chechen children have serious health problems By Lecha Sadayev CHECHNYA - Despite there being no demographic crisis in the foreseeable future, doctors are sounding the alarm now by stating that there is a high percentage of illness among newborn babies. "One-fifth of all babies are born with serious pathologies [anatomic or functional manifestations of a disease]," said the republic’s deputy health minister Sultan Alimkhadzhiyev. According to him, this is directly related to the two wars in Chechnya. He mentioned social problems, environmental pollution and long-term stress-inducing factors, all of which have been aggravated during the past few years. As for discovering and treating pathologies of pregnant women, he said the situation is complicated by the country’s slow rate of restoring health services, especially in prenatal clinics where preventable diseases could be detected in mothers-to-be. In Grozny, the situation concerning diseases of mothers and babies is catastrophic. According to Zargan Mutsayeva, chief doctor in the city’s main maternity hospital, the figure of 1 sick child out of 5, which is true for the entire country, is 1 child out of 2 in the capital. “To be more exact, it’s just over half.” "Of the 2,173 births in the first half of 2005, 1,104 had serious pathologies. Even worse however, were the deaths of 51 fetuses,“ the doctor added. www.watchdog.cz Russian Defence Ministry Admits Drunk Soldiers Killed 3 Chechen Civilians Created: 18.11.2005 12:30 MSK (GMT +3) MosNews Russia's Defense Ministry admits that Russian soldiers were responsible for the death of three Chechen civilians earlier this week, it said in an official statement issued Friday. Earlier the local administration head Rivzan Masayev openly blamed Russian soldiers for the incident, and the Defense Ministry confirmed his version. "The involvement of the Russian armed forces in the incident of November 16, 2005 that took place in the Staraya Sunzha settlement of the Grozny district, has been proved," the Ministry's statement said. On that date 10 camouflaged men killed three people and seriously wounded one local civilian in the village of Staraya Sunzha near Grozny, the Chechen capital. The soldiers, who were reportedly drunk, first opened fire on three cars, then made the wounded occupants lie down on the ground and shot them dead, Masayev told the local television channel. Military prosecutors have launched an investigation into the accident and all the suspects have been detained, the Ministry's statement added. http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/11/18/russiansoldiers.shtml www.cageprisoners.com 16/11/2005 URGENT ALERT: Disabled Ex-Guantanamo Detainee Being Tortured by Russian Authorities IHRC urges all campaigners to speak out for Rasul Kudaev, an ex- Guantanamo detainee, now being held and tortured by the Russian Federation. Background Kudaev was one of 7 Russians released from Guantanamo in February 2004. They were subsequently set free by Russian authorities who said there was insufficient proof that they had been involved in the criminal activities of Afghanistan's Taliban regime. Kudaev was detained on 23 October on suspicion of participating in an armed raid by gunmen on Nalchik on 13 October. On arrest, Kudaev was severely beaten by officers in front of his family. When his mother protested against the abuse and pointed out that he was an invalid, the officers allegedly said that the real beating had not even started. After being taken to the headquarters of the Organized Crime Squad (UBOP), Kudaev was brutally tortured and forced to sign a record of the interrogation in which he admitted to being present at the scene of a crime. When he signed the paper, he was semi- conscious, and so badly injured he was unable to speak properly or lift his head up to look at anyone, since his head was lolling to one side. On 25 October, a court in Nalchik ruled that he should be further detained on suspicion of "terrorism", "participation in an armed group", and "attempt on the life of a law enforcement official" in relation to the Nalchik raids. It is impossible for Kudaev to have been involved in the Nalchik raid. Due to the severe torture he suffered while in American custody, he is physically disabled and moves around with great difficulty. He has various heart-related problems as well as hepatitis. Kudaev's current whereabouts and the state of his health are unknown. The only person that currently has access to Rasul Kudaev is a lawyer appointed by the state, who has reportedly informed the family that Rasul Kudaev is currently in a pre-trial detention centre, and that his health condition is serious. There have been reports that the flesh on his wounded leg is rotting and there is a possibility that it may need amputation. The family have so far been unable to find an independent lawyer willing to represent him. Suggested Action 1. Contact the Foreign Office in your country and request that they raise the case of Rasul Kudaev with their Russian counterparts. Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP Foreign & Commonwealth Office King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH Fax: +44 20 7839 2417 Email private.office@fco.gov.uk 2. Write to the Russian embassy in your country expressing your concern that Rasul has been beaten and tortured in custody and urge them to allow him to receive medical treatment. H.E. Yury Viktorovich Fedotov Embassy of the Russian Federation 13 Kensington Palace Gardens London W8 4QX Tel. 0207 229 2666 / 0207 229 7281 Fax 0207 229 5804 Email office@rusemblon.org Sample letters for both can be found below. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- [Your Name] [Your Address] [Date] Rt. Hon. Jack Straw MP Foreign & Commonwealth Office King Charles Street London SW1A 2AH Dear Mr. Straw: RE: Detention and Torture of Rasul Kudaev by Russian authorities I am writing out of deep concern about the health and safety of Rasul Kudaev, an ex-Guantanamo detainee currently being held by Russia on suspicion of involvement in the attacks on Nalchik in October. Mr Kudaev is alleged to have signed a statement while in custody confessing to his involvement in the attacks. However, there is mounting evidence that this confession was coerced out of him through severe beating and torture. When he signed the paper, he was semi-conscious, and so badly injured he was unable to speak properly or lift his head up to look at anyone, since his head was lolling to one side. I remind you that confessions extracted under torture are inadmissible in criminal proceedings under both Russian and international law. In actual fact, Mr Kudaev is physically disabled due to the torture and ill-treatment he received in American custody for the last three years. It is almost impossible for him to have been involved in the attacks due to his injuries which persist until today. The Russian authorities are refusing Mr Kudaev urgently needed medical treatment. Under international law, he is entitled to receive all necessary medical care. I strongly urge you to raise these concerns with your Russian counterparts and request them to subject the allegations of torture to an impartial and independent investigation, bringing those responsible to justice. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience Yours sincerely, _________________ [Your Name] --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- [Your Name] [Your Address] [Date] H.E. Yury Viktorovich Fedotov Embassy of the Russian Federation 13 Kensington Palace Gardens London W8 4QX Dear Mr. Fedotov RE: Detention and Torture of Rasul Kudaev by Russian authorities I am writing out of deep concern about the health and safety of Rasul Kudaev, an ex-Guantanamo detainee currently being held by Russian authorities on suspicion of involvement in the attacks on Nalchik in October. Mr Kudaev is alleged to have signed a statement while in custody confessing to his involvement in the attacks. However, there is mounting evidence that this confession was coerced out of him through severe beating and torture. When he signed the paper, he was semi-conscious, and so badly injured he was unable to speak properly or lift his head up to look at anyone, since his head was lolling to one side. I remind you that confessions extracted under torture are inadmissible in criminal proceedings under both Russian and international law. In actual fact, Mr Kudaev is physically disabled due to the torture and ill-treatment he received in American custody for the last three years. It is almost impossible for him to have been involved in the attacks due to his injuries which persist until today. The Russian authorities are refusing Mr Kudaev urgently needed medical treatment. Under international law, he is entitled to receive all necessary medical care. I strongly urge you to ensure that he receives this treatment and to call for a full impartial and independent investigation into the allegations of torture. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience Yours sincerely, ___________________ [Your Name] SOURCE: IHRC http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engEUR460412005?open&of=eng-RUS http://www.cageprisoners.com/campaigns.php?id=211 Russian Federation: Ongoing harassment of RCFS New information - RUS 003 / 0805 / OBS 069.2 Judicial and fiscal harassment The Russian Federation November 7, 2005 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation. New Information: The Observatory has been informed by the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) about the following developments in the different judicial proceedings against RCFS. Concerning the judicial harassment by the Ministry of Justice: Pursuant to an audit carried out by the Main Department at the Federal Registration Service of the Ministry of Justice of Nizhny Novgorod Region, a complaint was lodged by the Ministry against RCFS on April 8, 2005, before the Court of Nizhny Novgorod Region, aiming at closing down the organisation on the basis of the allegation that RCFS had failed to provide some documents to the Ministry. This measure was taken whereas the material required had already been provided to the Tax Inspection office which was then also auditing into the organisation’s accounts (see below). On September 21, 2005, the hearing in the case, before the Nizhny Novgorod Region Court, was postponed to October 26, 2005, upon request of the Ministry of Justice. On that date, the representative of the Ministry claimed to close the organisation down, and asked Judge Samartseva to take this decision immediately. The court hearing was postponed to November 1, 2005 until additional documents were attached to the case. On that date, Judge Samartseva decided to postpone consideration of the suit lodged by the Ministry of Justice for an indefinite period of time, until the case is considered by the Panel of Judges on civil cases at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation due to the request made by RCFS representative in court. Concerning the fiscal harassment of RCFS: * Pursuant to a Federal Tax Inspection office’s audit into the organisation’s accounts, a criminal case was opened against RCFS on September 2, 2005 for “evading payment of taxes or dues in a big scale” (Article 199, Part I of the Criminal Code) (see background information). On October 6, 2005, Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky, RCFS Executive Manager, was interrogated at the Nizhny Novgorod Region Department of the Ministry of the Interior as a witness to the case. * Pursuant to the same audit, RCFS received an order from the Tax Inspection office in Nizhny Novgorod, on June 16, 2005, to pay 1,000,561 roubles (over 35,000 USD) for non-payment of income tax and fines for the grants received in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Pursuant to this, the Tax Inspection office ordered a compulsory withdrawal of funds from the RCFS’s bank account on August 26, 2005, despite the pending appeal filed by RCFS against the decision of the Tax Inspection of Nizhegorodsky District taken on August 15, 2005, to order RCFS to pay the same amount as profit taxes upon the assets received by RCFS to implement specific projects (Resolution 25 - see background information). However, on October 4, 2005, RCFS bank accounts were reopened following the resolution of the Arbitration Court of Nizhny Novgorod Region to suspend the orders to collect profit taxes and fines from RCFS and to freeze its accounts in foreign currency, on September 12, 2005. Nevertheless, on October 14, 2005, RCFS received a letter from the Administration of Federal Tax Service of Nizhny Novgorod Region stating that it had decided not to comply with the request of RCFS calling for the cancellation of the decision of the Tax Inspection of Nizhegorodsky district. * In addition, on October 26, 2005, at a hearing at the Arbitration Court of Nizhny Novgorod Region, concerning the appeal of RCFS against Resolution 25, representatives of the Tax Inspection demanded to attach to the case some documents from the Pravozashita case against Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky. The judge of the Arbitration Court informed the sides that she would need time to read all the documents before taking a decision and on September 12, she decided to suspend Resolution 25. Her decision will be valid until the next court hearing before the Arbitration Court on November 16, 2005. Concerning the Pravozaschita case: On November 3, 2005, the preliminary hearing in the judicial case against Pravozaschita was held in Sovetsky district court of Nizhny Novgorod. Indeed, on September 2, 2005, Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky, as chief editor of Pravozaschita (Human Rights Defence) newspaper, was officially charged under paragraph b of part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code for “inciting hatred or animosity on the basis of ethnicity and religion” (see background information). During this preliminary hearing, the judge refused the appeals of Mr. Dmitrievsky’s lawyers to exclude the evidence collected during the investigation. As a matter of fact, as Mr. Dmitrievsky was a witness to the case, he had no right to defend himself and had no access to the information in the case. The date for the next hearing was set for November 16, 2005, which is the same day of the next hearing at the court of arbitration. The Observatory is seriously concerned about this judicial and fiscal harassment targeting the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, and in particular Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky, which visibly aims at hindering the activities of the organisation. The Observatory is deeply concerned about the physical and psychological integrity of RCFS members and recalls that they have been continuously victims of threats and acts of harassment. Background information: Since the beginning of 2005, RCFS has been subjected to a constant judicial and fiscal harassment: * On January 11, 2005, the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region initiated a case against Pravozaschita, a joint publication by RCFS and the Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights (NNSHR), and Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky, as chief editor of the newspaper, following the publication of statements by Messrs. Akhmed Zakaev and Aslan Maskhadov, two Chechen separatist leaders, calling for a peaceful end to the Russian - Chechen conflict (see Observatory Open Letters to President Putin, dated January 26 and June 20, 2005). On September 2, 2005, Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky was officially charged by the prosecutor’s office in relation to this case. Mr. Dmitrievsky is accused of having committed a crime under part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation referring to “actions aimed at inciting hatred or hostility and at disparagement of either an individual or a group of people according to their gender, race, nationality, background, religious beliefs as well as belonging to any social group that are committed publicly or through mass media outlets”. This offence is liable to up to two years imprisonment. On June 16, 2005, RCFS received an order from the Tax Inspection office in Nizhny Novgorod, pursuant to an audit undertaken by the office. It ordered RCFS to pay 1,000,561 roubles for non-payment of income tax and fines for the grants received in 2002, 2003 and 2004. It was issued under Article 100 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and referred to grants from the European Commission and the National Endowment for Democracy Foundation arguing these sponsoring organisations have not been included in the list of donors from which subsidies are not taxable. On June 28, 2005, RCFS appealed against this decision. On August 15, 2005, the RCFS received another order (Resolution n° 25) from the Federal Tax Inspection office that confirmed the order to pay the same amount of taxes and fines. In this order, the deputy chief of tax inspection, Mr. Trifonov, admitted that the European Commission is included in the list of donors from which grants are not taxable. However, he further claimed that RCFS had used this subsidy for “publishing and diffusing publications”, an activity that is not included in article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. According to this article, tax free grants must be dedicated to “education, arts, culture and environmental defence fields”. RCFS lodged another appeal against this decision on August 24. On August 26, 2005, the Tax Inspection office ordered a compulsory withdrawal of funds from the RCFS’s bank account, despite the pending appeal filed against Resolution n° 25 (See Observatory Press Release dated September 16, 2005). In the same time, on September 23, 2005, Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky was summoned for interrogation at the Main Investigatory Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Nizhny Novgorod region and was informed that a new criminal case against RCFS had been initiated on September 2, 2005, pursuant to the Federal Tax Inspection office’s audit, although their decision had been appealed to the Arbitration Court. Action requested: Please write to the authorities of the Russian Federation urging them to: i. guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky, all RCFS members and all Russian human rights defenders; ii. put an end to all acts of harassment against the RCFS and all of its members; iii. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” and article 12.2 which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”; iv. more generally, conform with the provisions of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and with all other international human rights instruments binding the Russian Federation. Addresses: o Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes: + 7 095 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru o Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Ustinov, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, 103793 g. Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Prokuratura Rossiyskoy Federatsii, Generalnomu prokuroru Ustinovu V., Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 095 292 88 48 o Prosecutor of Nizhegorodskaya Oblast Demidov Vladimir Veniaminovich Izhorskaya Street, 25 Nizhny Novgorod 603115 Russian Federation; Fax: +7 8312 61 85 55 o Mr. Triphonov Michail Yurievich, deputy director of the Federal Tax Inspection office in Nizhny Novgorod; Tel: +7 8312 33 22 01 o Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Predsedatele Komissii po pravam cheloveka pri Prezidente, Pamfilove, Elle., Russian Federation, Fax: +7 095 206 4855 o Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Ministru vnutrennykh del, Fax: +7 095 237 4925 o Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 121200 Moskva, Ministru inostrannykh del, Fax: + 7 095 244 2203 o Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +4122 734 40 44 *** Geneva - Paris, November 7, 2005 Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply. The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line: Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80 Tel and fax OMCT: (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29 Email: observatoire@iprolink.ch http://www.omct.org/base.cfm?page=article&num=5732&consol=close&kwrd=OMCT AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Public Statement AI Index: EUR 46/053/2005 (Public) News Service No: 306 15 November 2005 Executive Director of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Stanislav Dmitrievskii, possible prisoner of conscience Stanislav Dmitrievskii is facing up to five years’ imprisonment for his decision to publish articles written by a former Chechen separatist leader and his envoy. Stanislav Dmitrievskii is Executive Director of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) and editor-in-chief of the Pravo-zashchita newspaper (Rights defence, a human rights-oriented newspaper), which is published jointly by RCFS and another Nizhnii Novgorod based human rights organization. Amnesty International is concerned that the criminal prosecution is a violation of his right to freedom of expression, and seems to be part of a campaign of harassment aimed at closing down the work of the RCFS. If imprisoned on these charges, Amnesty International would consider Stanislav Dmitrievskii to be a prisoner of conscience. Amnesty International is calling for the charges to be dropped. The first hearing of the merits of the case is on 16 November. The subject of the criminal investigation is an appeal, published in the April-May 2004 edition of Pravo-zashchita, by the late Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov to the European Parliament calling for international recognition of the current Chechen conflict as “an act of genocide by the Russian government against the Chechen people”, and an appeal in the March 2004 edition of Pravo-zashchita by Aslan Maskhadov's envoy Akhmed Zakaev to the Russian people not to re-elect President Vladimir Putin. Stanislav Dmitrievskii faces charges under Article 282.2 of the Russian Criminal Code which criminalizes: "...incitement of hatred or enmity, and likewise demeaning human dignity with regard to indicia of sex, race, nationality, language, origin, attitude towards religion, and likewise affiliation to any social group, committed publicly or with the use of the mass media... and with the use of his professional position." Amnesty International considers that the two articles published do not contain any incitement to hatred or enmity, or any form of violence. The articles are critical of Russian government policy rather than expressing any criticism of ethnic Russians, and contain calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The RCFS’s general political stance, the editorial position of Pravo-zashchita and the stated personal conviction of Stanislav Dmitrievskii, is one of complete rejection of violent means as a way of solving the Chechen conflict. This is evident from the RCFS’s founding declaration, the nature of the articles published in Pravo-zashchita, and numerous statements made by Stanislav Dmitrievskii. Moreover, Stanislav Dmitrievskii told Amnesty International that he had had several motivations for publishing the articles in question: that the articles contained a clear public interest, in that Russian citizens have a right to know the opinion of the other side to the conflict which is not to be found in mainstream media; that both articles concerned a call for peaceful negotiations to end the conflict; and that the articles did not contain any call to violence. A British lawyer who had been due to observe the trial proceedings in Nizhnii Novgorod was denied entry to the Russian Federation on 15 November. Bill Bowring, a barrister and professor of human rights and international law at the London Metropolitan University, was reportedly held without explanation by border officials for six hours at Moscow’s Sheremetievo-2 airport before being put on an airplane back to the UK. He was in possession of a valid multiple-entry visa and carried letters of accreditation as a trial observer from Frontline Defenders, a non-governmental organization that campaigns on behalf of human rights defenders at risk, and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. The RCFS is a non-governmental organization that monitors human rights violations in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus. Staff and volunteers in Nizhnii Novgorod and the North Caucasus produce daily press releases on “disappearances” and other serious human rights violations which are disseminated by the organization’s project, the Russian Chechen Information Agency. The RCFS also publishes the Pravo-zashchita newspaper jointly with the Nizhnii Novgorod Human Rights Society and undertakes humanitarian initiatives for individuals affected by the conflict in the North Caucasus, for example organizing medical assistance and holiday breaks in other parts of the Russian Federation for children affected by the conflict. For several months, Amnesty International has expressed its concern at an apparent campaign of harassment and prosecution aimed at members of the RCFS, reportedly in response to the organization’s work on human rights. As well as the criminal investigation into Stanislav Dmitrievskii, the organization is simultaneously undergoing legal action by the tax authorities and the registration department of the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, both Stanislav Dmitrievskii and another staff member, Oksana Chelysheva, have been the subject of threatening leaflets which have been distributed this year in Nizhnii Novgorod, where the organization is based. Oksana Chelysheva is deputy Executive Director of the RCFS, editor of the Russian Chechen Information Agency, and editor of the Pravo-zashchita newspaper. The leaflets have accused the human rights defenders of being “traitors” and supporters of “terrorists” Police investigations into the leaflets have been opened but no one responsible has yet been identified. http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGEUR460532005 Court Refuses to Close Russian-Chechen Friendship Society 14.11.2005 MosNews A court in Nizhny Novgorod has refused to satisfy a request from the Federal Registration Service to close down the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, the Gazeta.ru website reported Monday. The Federal Registration Service filed a complaint against the RCFS in spring, after the RCFS failed to provide the necessary documents on its financial activities during an unscheduled check. The documents in question were with the Tax Inspection Service at the time. After the RCFS society provided the papers in June and no violations were found, the registration service demanded the Society change its name so that the word “Russian” was not used. The reason given was that the NGO only has offices in a few regions of Russia and not all over the country. The International Helsinki Human Rights Group earlier accused the Russian authorities of the unjustified destruction of the NGO. RCFS is a Nizhny Novgorod-based NGO, which distributes independent information about the human rights situation in the Caucasus, defends the interests of victims of war crimes and assists children and disabled people victimized by the conflict in Chechnya. The NGO was founded in 2000 and has branch offices in Nazran and Grozny. It has repeatedly criticized the Russian authorities for severe human rights and humanitarian law violations in Chechnya and the surrounding areas. Thursday, November 17, 2005. Issue 3297. Page 3. U.K. Rights Lawyer Is Denied Entry By Anatoly Medetsky Staff Writer A British law professor who has helped Russian citizens win cases in the European Court of Human Rights and inside the country has been denied entry to Russia, human rights activists said Wednesday. Border guards at Sheremetyevo Airport detained Bill Bowring, a professor at London Metropolitan University and founder of the university's European Human Rights Advocacy Center, for six hours before revoking his visa and sending him back to London on Tuesday, the activists said at a news conference. Bowring, whose center is funded by the European Commission, was to attend a court hearing in Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday as an observer, said Oleg Orlov, a leader of the rights group Memorial. Prosecutors in the city have charged Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, with inciting ethnic hatred in a case that rights groups said was meant to punish him for statements by the late rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov published in the society's newspaper. A lawyer from Bowring's center helped the society to win a court case in the city on Monday in which the Federal Registration Service sought to close it down, said Svetlana Gannushkina, head of the Civil Assistance rights group. Bowring, whose wife and son are Russian citizens, said by telephone Wednesday from London that he had no idea if the deportation was linked to his legal support for Russian citizens. Bowring has assisted plaintiffs in more than 80 cases against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. In 12 cases the plaintiffs won, Bowring said. In one case, the court in Strasbourg ruled in June that Russia had to reduce pollution around the metal plant in the city of Cherepovets or resettle a resident to a cleaner place. In another, the European court in February ordered Russia to pay a total of $180,000 in damages to six plaintiffs from Chechnya, ruling that the military campaign against separatists there violated their rights. A spokeswoman for the Federal Security Service, which oversees the Federal Border Guard Service, referred inquiries about Bowring to the Foreign Ministry. A Foreign Ministry spokesman declined to comment Wednesday. Most cases of foreigners denied entry to Russia have involved religious figures. In the a recent case of a lawyer being expelled, Mikhail Khodorkovsky's lawyer Robert Amsterdam was deported on a visa technicality in September. Nizniy Novgorod Report # 829 The Russian special services have denied access to Russia to an observer at the trial of the chief editor of the “Pravo-zaschita” newspaper Stanislaw Dmitrievsky URGENT MESSAGE On 15 November 2005 Bill Bowring, a lawyer and a professor of the international law and human rights of the University of London, a member of the executive committee of the Bar of England, was refused entry into the Russian Federation by officers of the Federal Security Service where he arrived to observe the trial concerning the charges preferred to the chief editor of the “Pravo-zaschita” newspaper and the executive manager of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Stanislaw Dmitrievsky under article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. As it became known, today, on 15 November 2005, some agents of the Federal Security Service detained Bill Bowring in the premises of the international airport Sheremetyevo-2 on his arrival from the Great Britain. He was kept by them for more than four hours without any explanations. After that he was told that he was denied entry to Russia. They didn't tell anything about the reasons for their decision. As of the present moment, Bill Bowring is in the airport waiting for his flight back. Bill Bowring has letters of accreditation from the Bar of England and Wales and from the Ireland-based Frontline Defenders Foundation Bill Bowring holds a Russian visa which allows him entry to the Russian Federation at all times. Bill Bowring was traveling to Nizhniy Novgorod to observe two trials which have been scheduled for 16 November 2005. The first relates to the case against Stanislav Dmitrivsky, Director of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), who has been charged under article 282 of the criminal code “inciting hatred or enmity on the basis of ethnicity and religion”. The second relates to the complaint which has been filed by the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) against the federal tax inspection office in the region of Nizhniy Novgorod who allegedly began a series of unauthorized withdrawals from their bank account on 26 August 2005. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society expresses our deep indignation with this arbitrary act perpetrated by representatives of the FSB. The Council of Europe has already been notified about the incident. The Russian-Chechen Information Agency is also receiving reports that the former Russian Ombudsman, Oleg Mironov, has intervened on behalf of Bill Bowring. He allegedly spoke with FSB representatives at the airport earlier this morning who simply informed him that they have the right to choose to permit or to deny entry. Professor Bill Bowring visited Nizhny Novgorod on 16-18 June 2005 when he monitored the situation connected with the harassment campaign launched by the Russian authorities against the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. He made a detailed report on his observations of the situation (see our release ą1353 from 28 June 2005). Editor in Chief Stanislav Dmitrievskiy Editor of this release is Oksana Chelysheva Nizniy Novgorod Report # 828 The court refused to liquidate the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society 14.11.2005. Nizhny Novgorod. The Nizhny Novgorod Region Court has refused the suit lodged by the Nizhny Novgorod Main Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice to close down the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. The ruling was made by judge Samartseva after considering the documents and debates between the sides. The Main Registration Department was represented by Oleg Kucherov. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was presented by its executive manager Stanislaw Dmitrievsky, Alexander Lavrentyev as well as Svetlana Gannushkina, a member of the council on development of the civil society at the president of the RF and the chairperson of the “Civil Assistance” organization, Alexander Mnatsakanyan as a representative of the International Helsinki Federation who arrived in Nizhny Novgorod today. Besides, the RCFS was represented by two lawyers, Drew Patrick Hollinger (the USA, a member of the International Bar of Advocates “Saint Petersburg) and Yury Sidorov (Nizhny Novgorod). Representatives of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society express their full satisfaction with the decision of judge Samartseva but point to the fact that it can be appealed within the period of ten days, according to the law. (From our correspondent) RCIA: various reports Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 827 Release of the abducted resident of Shali district center On 12 November 2005 Shamil Eskiev, a resident of the Chechen Shali district center, was released after his abduction perpetrated by a group of identified people on 10 November 2005 when he was taken away from his own house (see O.R. from 12 November 2005). According to the released man, he was kept by representatives of the force agencies of the Chechen Republic, to all appearances. He thinks so as the perpetrators spoke Chechen without any accent. Eskiev was interrogated by them and they demanded information concerning whereabouts of the Chechen guerrilla groups and ammunition caches. The man kept repeating that he was absolutely unaware of all these things. He was released in Grozny. The perpetrators brought him in a car to the area close to Oktyabrskaya Square known among people as “Minutka”. He had a cloth bag pulled over his head and couldn't see his abductors. He was made to get out of the car with the bag over the head. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 826 Abduction of a resident of Shali district center In the evening of 10 November 2005 unidentified people moving around in three 9th model “Zhigili” cars abducted a resident of the Chechen Shali district center Shamil Eskiev. The man was taken away from his own house. The editorial office of the RCIA learnt about the abduction when the chairperson of the RCFS branch in the North Caucasus Imran Ezhiv called the office. At the time of the abduction, Eskiev's father Jalautdin (born 1932) and his neighbor Aset Mashaeva (born 1953) were in the house. Ezhiev reports the witnesses as stating that perpetrators were dressed in camouflage, they spoke Chechen and wore no masks. Having burst into the house, they aimed their submachine guns at Shamil Eskiev's father. At that they were shouting, “Tell s where the documents are”. The man got so frightened that he lost consciousness. The perpetrators grabbed Eskiev, took him out of the house. They pushed Eskiev into a boot of one of their cars and disappeared to an unknown destination. According to Iran Ezhiev, Eskiev was involved into collecting documents evidencing abuses of power by officials responsible for payment of compensations for dwellings destroyed in armed actions. Yesterday Shamil Eskiev's relatives applied to the district administration, the police and military commandant's offices of Shali district but all the attempts to establish the whereabouts of the abducted man have brought no results. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 825 Chechen guerrilla is killed in a clash near the village of Avtury On 11 November 2005 at about 3 pm there was an armed clash between Chechen guerrillas and servicemen of the “Vostok” battalion of the Intelligence service at the Mail Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the vicinity of Atury village of the Chechen Shali district. According to the obtained information, one Chechen combatant was killed in the clash. Casualties sustained by the opposite side have not been reported. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 824 Armed clash is going on in the village of Dolinsky 12.11.2005. 12:50. As of the present moment, an armed clash between force agents and Chechen guerrillas is going on in the village of Dolinsky of the Chechen Grozny rural district. According to the preliminarily obtained information, a group of three Chechen guerrillas entered the village and it was rounded up by force agents after that. A correspondent of the RCIA reports that the armed clash is still going on. One of the guerrillas is reported to have been killed. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 823 Court hearing on liquidation of the RCFS have unexpectedly fixed for 14 November. The judge Samartseva has suddenly changed her mind URGENT MESSAGE 11.11.2005. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society received a notification signed by the judge Samartseva stating that she had scheduled the main hearing of the case concerning the suit lodged by the Ministry of Justice against the RCFS on November 14. Thus, she has overruled her own decision taken on November 1, 2005 to postpone consideration of the case for an indefinite period of time. As we reported before, on 2 November 2005 the judge of Nizhny Novgorod region Court Samartseva postponed consideration of the suit lodged by the Ministry of Justice against the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society with the demand to close the organization down. The time for the next hearing has not been fixed. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was represented by Alexander Lavrent'ev who appealed not to consider the suit as according to the “Law on Public Associations” the registration body has no right to lodge a suit with the demand to destroy an organization. After the judge made a decision not to comply with the request, the RCFS representatives stated that they were going to appeal this decision to the superior court by submitting a complaint. The judge made a decision to postpone the case hearing for an indefinite period of time until the case is considered by the Panel of Judges on civil cases at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. The judge's notification was signed on 3 November but sent on 8 November. The RCFS had it delivered only today, in the second half of the day. The letter from Samartseva says, “I have to inform you that in accordance with parts 1 and 2 of Article 223 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, part 1 of Article 371 of the Civil Code the ruling not to comply with the request can't be an obstacle to hold the main hearing of the case. Thus, I have to inform you that the date of the main hearing is scheduled now on 14 November 2005 at 10 am”. According to the RCFS staffers, this sudden decision evidences an assumption that it has been done on purpose in order to create as many obstacles as possible for the RCFS to carry out their defense and to exhaust them by subsequent court hearings. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 822 Unidentified male corpse is found in Starye Atagi On 10 November 2005 service personnel of the anti-terror center (the former security service of the Chechen president) discovered an identified male corpse in the territory of the 2nd branch of “Ataguinsky” state farm situated in the village of Starye Stagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district. A correspondent of the RCIA reports some witnesses as stating that the corpse was covered with some soil. To all appearances, the man was killed several months ago. No IDs have been found on him. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 821 A car is hijacked in Shali district center On 10 November 2005 at 3 am unidentified criminals hijacked an UAZ vehicle out of the yard of household ą26 situated in Rechnaya Street in the Chechen Shali district center. The owner of the car Sultan Al'viev reported the fact to the local police office but the attempts to find the car and capture the criminal group have failed. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 820 Police station in Elistanzhi village was under fire all night long At night from 10 to 11 November 2005 unidentified people opened fire at the police station situated in the building that used to be a shop in the village of Elistanzhi of the Chechen Vedeno district. All the adjacent territory was in the epicenter of the fore too. The fire was launched from submachine guns and grenade cup discharges. The police station was attacked in the evening of 10 November and it lasted until dawn of 11 November. None of the police servicemen and civilians living in the area have been injured as both the policemen and the villagers were hiding in the basements of the buildings. A correspondent of the RCIA reports residents of the village to be scared. Some households were damaged in the fire: window panes were smashed and roofing damaged. At dawn of 11 November 2005 the forested area situated in the vicinity of Elistanzhi village was subjected to intensive shelling by the Russian artillery. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 819 Abductions in Samashki village On 10 November 2005 at about 2 am unidentified people in camouflage abducted Isa Nozhaev, a resident of the village of Samashki of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district. The man was taken away from his house in Vostochnaya Street. On 7 November unidentified people moving around in three “Zhiguli” cars of 7th and 9th models abducted Ali Murtazov (born 1986). Murtazov is a pupil of 11th grade of the local school. According to the relatives of the abducted young man, Said-Ali was detained by servicemen of some unidentifiable force agency two years ago on suspicion of being involved into activities of the so-called illegal armed formations. At that time he was soon released. Murtazov's relatives have received information through informal sources that Said-Ali is being kept in custody on Achkhoy-Martan district police office. He is being reportedly charged under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“brigandage”). However, this information has not been confirmed by law-enforcement agencies. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 818 Mopping-up operation in the village of Katyr-Yurt after a night clash there On 11 November 2005 the Russian military carried out a joint operation together with the local policemen aimed at establishing people involved into activities of the so-called illegal armed formations in the village of Katyr-Yurt village of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district. There has been no information about any detentions in the operation. The mopping-up operation followed the armed clash that happened in the village between the service personnel of Achkhoy-Martan military commandant's office and a group of Chechen guerrillas at night from 10 to 11 November 2005. According to the preliminary information, in the evening of 10 November a group of five Chechen combatants entered the village. After the village had been rounded up force agents, the armed clash started. In the clash one Chechen combatant was killed, two of them managed to flee the territory of the village. Two more combatants are reported to be hiding in the village. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 817 Regular shelling of the forested area in Shatoy district by the Russian military On 9 November 2005 at about 11 pm the forested area adjacent to the village of Borzoy of the Chechen Shatoy district was subjected to shelling by the Russian artillery of the unit stationed at the outskirts of the village. Today, on 10 November 2005, at about 11 am the sane area was again shelled. Forested area situated in the vicinity of villages of Pamyatoy, Aslambek-Sheripovo and Shatoy is subjected to regular artillery shelling. A correspondent of the RCIA in Shatoy district has to observe them every day. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 816 Whereabouts of a resident of Aslambek-Sheripov settlement remain unknown after his detention by the Russian military As of 10 November 2005, the whereabouts of a resident of the village of Aslambek-Sheripovo settlement of the Chechen Shatoy district Alikhan Sugaipov remain unknown after his detention by the Russian military in a special operation carried on October 30, 2005. As it was reported before, on October 30, 2005 there was an armed clash between the Russian military and a group of the Chechen armed resistance in the village. The guerrillas were hiding village houses in which the guerrillas were hiding was either exploded or destroyed by shelling (see O.R. from 31.10.2005). It became known today that the house belonged to Alikhan Sugaipov. It was also established that the man was detained by the military and taken to an unknown destination by them. As of the present moment, Sugaipov's relatives know nothing about the whereabouts and destiny of Alikhan Sugaipov. Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 815 Mortar shell is made safe in Argun On 8 November 2005 Russian military servicemen of a field-engineer company carried out a reconnaissance operation in the town of Argun of the Chechen Shali district and discovered an unexploded 122-mm caliber mortar shell in a heap of rubbish in Melnichnaya Street, according to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. The mortar shell was exploded with a charge set over it. Ěčíîěĺňíűé ńíŕđ˙ä îáĺçâđĺćĺí íŕ ěĺńňĺ ďóňĺě ďîäđűâŕ. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 814 Chechen combatant is detained in Grozny On 8 November 2005 the service personnel of the 4th company at the 2nd special police regiment carried out a search operation in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny and in Kassior Street they detained Kasuev Akhmed Luluevich (born 1980), a resident of the village of Kirov-Yurt of the Chechen Vedeno district. A correspondent of the RCIA reports a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic as stating that the detained man is a member of the Chechen armed resistance movement and “participated in the actions under Abu-Umar's command in the territory of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district”. (From our correspondent) Gudermes district. Chechen Republic Report # 813 The fates of two girls from Gudermes district center remain unknown after their disappearance As of 9 November 2005 the whereabouts of Kalaeva Malika Umarovna (born 1986) and Israilova Kameta Abdulgerievna (born 1984) remain unestablished after their disappearance in the village of Neftekachka situated within the precincts of the Chechen Gudermes district center on 19 October 2005. A correspondent of the RCIA reports a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic as stating that on 19 October the girls left their homes to go to the local polyclinic and have never come back home. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 812 Five residents of village Starye Atagi have been wounded in a night shelling On 9 November 2005 at about 3 am the village of Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district was subjected to shelling by the Russian artillery. In a shelling five villagers, including a 9-year-old girl, were wounded. The child is in the critical condition, according to the doctors. Some ten shells burst in the area of residential houses situated in Zelyonaya Street. The biggest damage was caused to households ą20 and ą18 located there. All the window panes and doors were smashed in house ą20. Its walls and roof were damaged too as five of the shells exploded there. Five people living in the house were seriously injured. They are members of the Yusupov family, including the owner of the house (aged 60), his two wives, his daughter and his 9-year-old granddaughter. The girl has been taken to hospital ą9 of Grozny in a bad condition. The other members of her family are being treated now in hospital situated in Starye Atagi village. Their doctors say that they don't fear for their lives. A correspondent of the RCIA reports local residents as testifying that shelling was launched from the territory of the Russian military unit located at the south-west outskirts of Shali district center. As of the present moment, a group of journalists from the Chechen TV is working on the site. (From our correspondent ) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 811 A tour of the Russian circus in Achkhoy-Martan On 7 November 2005 the “Diamond” circus company headed by the honored actor of Russia Vyacheslav Georgievich Zavadsky finished their tour in the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district center. The circus company consisted of eleven actors from different cities of the Russian Federation. They gave eleven performances for the children of Achkhoy-Martan and one charity performance for orphaned children and children from needy families. According to the residents of the district, such tours of the Russian actors contribute to establishment of peace in the Chechen land. The leader of the company Vyacheslav Zavadsky told a correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency that he thought it important to organize some extra-curriculum activities and crafts studies for the Chechen children. The well-known performer told, “The war has spiked violence and malice into people and our children are absorbing it. If children get a possibility t create something beautiful, they'll be happy”. (From our correspondent.) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 810 Pressure imposed on the investigation into the murder of residents of Elistanzhi committed by the Russian military On 7 November 2005 the service personnel of the military commandant's office of the Chechen Vedeno district carrying out the investigation into the murders of two residents of Elistanzhi village and one Russian policeman committed by the Russian military could not carry out an investigative experiment although it had been fixed on November 6. According to the relatives of the victims, a strong pressure is being imposed on the investigative team by superior military officials. It was reported before that on 20 October a group of the Russian military killed two residents of the village and a Russian policeman (see our release ą1567 from 25.10.2005) - a 36-year-old Chumakov Makhnud Musadievich, Ayubov Bislan Turkoevich (born 1982) and an ethnic Russian police serviceman Garanin Valery Petrovich. Three other people were wounded. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 809 Passport checking in Elistanzhi village On 7 November 2005 the service personnel of the Russian federal forces in cooperation with the local police carried out a joint operation aimed at checking passports of residents of the village of Elistanzhi of the Chechen Vedeno district. According to the testimonies of the residents of the village, policemen and the Russian military didn't only check the passports but they copied passport details onto special sheets of paper and asked people to put their signatures beside them. The Russian military also demanded from all the people entering the village to leave their passports details too. To do it, they set movable checkpoints at all the outskirts of the village. The village residents assume that this peculiar operation was carried out in order use these subscription lists to fabricate the results of the approaching elections to the parliament of the republic. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 808 Kidnapping of a resident of Alkhan-Yurt On 8 November 2005 at about 4 am unidentified people in camouflage and masks armed with submachine guns dragged away a resident of the village of Alkhan-Yurt of the Chechen Urus-Martan district Yakubov Muslim Lemaevich. The man was taken from his own house to an unknown destination. According to the abducted man's father, the perpetrators introduced themselves as “kadyrovtsy” but they have not shown any IDs. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 807 Movement of several groups of Chechen guerrillas have been observed in Urus-Martan district On 8 November 2005 since early morning the service personnel of the Russian federal force bodies carried joint operations with the local police searching the mountainous and forested area situated near the village of Alkhasurovo of the Chechen Urus-Martan district. According to the residents of the village, the special operation was caused by the fact that at night from 7 to 8 November 2005 the servicemen of the Military Intelligence unit observed intensive movement of three groups of the Chechen guerrillas, some fifty people in number. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 806 The birth of Ramzan Kadyrov's son was saluted in Shali by his servicemen On 8 November 2005 at about midday the Shali district center of the Chechen Republic resounded with fire bursts. According to a correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency, some seventy servicemen of the force agency subordinate to the Chechen vice premier Ramzan Kadyrov celebrated the birth of their chief's son in such an extraordinary way. Numerous fire bursts caused panic among the town residents as many of them thought that an armed clash started in the town. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 805 Cattle die on mine fields On 4 November 2005 eight cows stepped on planed land mines and were killed by blasts at the South outskirts of Shalazhi village of the Chechen Urus-Martan district. According to the villagers, a federal unit was stationed on this field in 2000. Residents of the village have been finding unexploded shells and land mines there since that time. People are really endangered there. After the accident with the cows, the villagers called sappers from the military commandant's office of Urus-Martan district. They searched the field and exploded two anti-tank shells and four anti-personnel mines (so-called “frogs”). (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 804 Armed clash at the outskirts of Guekhi-Tchu village At night from 5 to 6 November 2005 at the outskirts of Guekhi-Tchu village of the Chechen Urus-Martan district there was an armed clash between the service personnel of “West” battalion of the Intelligence Service at the Main Headquarters of the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation and a group of guerrillas. In the clash several guerrillas were killed. The precise number of their casualties was impossible to establish. After the clash was over, the military searched and found seven Kalashnikov submachine guns, several tens of grenades and four planted land mines. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, twelve local residents were interrogated on a suspicion of being members of this group. Later all of them were reportedly released. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 803 Explosive planted on the way of a Russian military vehicles column caused no casualties On 6 November 2005 in the Chechen Shali district an explosive device planted on the Shali-Novye Atagi road went off when a Russian military vehicles column was going along it. As a result of the blast none of the Russian military or civilians was injured. (From our correspondent) Itum-Kalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 802 Conscript is wounded when an unidentifiable explosive device went off On 4 November 2005 a conscript of the Russian federal forces Kalyagin Maksim Alekseevich (born 1985) was wounded in his arm and thigh while his unit was carrying reconnaissance operation three kilometers away to the South from the village of Bugaroy of the Chechen Itum-Kali district. The wounds were caused by an explosion of unidentifiable explosive. Maksim Kalyagin is a serviceman of the 3rd squad at platoon #293 of a special reconnaissance battalion at the Main Headquarters of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 801 Resident of Grozny is found dead On 5 November 2005 service personnel of Staropromyslovsky district police office of Grozny found a male corpse in the yard of a half-destroyed house #331 in Pugachov Street. The corpse was later identified as Kornoukhov Igor Sergeevich (born 1987). Kornoukhov had a permanent registration in Grozny where he lived at the address 14 Kamenschikov Street, ap.36. According to a source within the Interior Ministry, the corpse bore signs of violent death. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 800 A contract serviceman is wounded On 6 November 2005 a sergeant of the Russian Federal forces Sidorov Sergey Pavlovich (born 1985) was wounded in his right hand and hip in the premises of the military unit #22 stationed in the village of Verkhatoy (Oktyabrskoy) of the Chechen Vedeno district. According to a source within the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic, Sidorov's wound was caused by a blast and it must have been the result of careless handling with a mine. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 799 Abduction of a resident of Ulus-Kert village On 6 November 2005 a group of unidentified people dressed in camouflage abducted Adamov Ziyauddin Akkhakievich (born 1961), a resident of Ulus-Kert village of the Chechen Shatoy district. The man was taken away from his own house. According the information obtained from a source within the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic, the crime was perpetrated by a group consisting of eight armed people. The perpetrators were moving around in two UAZ vehicles without any license plates. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 798 Murder of the road police serviceman in Ingushetia On 3 November 2005 a resident of Ekazhevo village of Ingushetia's Nasran district Sulumbek Kastoev (aged 33) was buried at the local cemetery. Kastoev was a serviceman of Ingushetia's road police. He was shot dead by some unidentified people at point blank range the day before. A correspondent of the RCIA has managed to establish some facts of the crime. In the evening of 2 November Sulumbek Kastoev was coming back home from the local market where he had bought some food. At the turn from Rostov-Baku highway to the village of Ekazhevo, he was stopped by a group of armed people in camouflage and masks. Having stopped the car, they opened fire at it. Sulumbek Kastoev was killed on the spot. According to the information obtained from a source within the law-enforcement bodies, he was shot fifteen times. Sulumbek Kastoev is a brother of the chief of Nasran district police office Jabrail Kastoev. According to some information agencies, including “REGNUM”, on 15 August 2005 in Nazran some unidentified people planted an explosive under Jabrail Kastoev's car. As a result of the blast, Kastoev and his driver were wounded and are undergoing medical treatment in the republican hospital of Nazran. On 20 September 2005 in Ingushetia's Karabulak town some unidentified people assaulted a car in which sat several servicemen of the Nazran district police. As a result of the assault, three Interior Ministry servicemen were killed. One of them was Sulumbek Kastoev's nephew (see O.R. from 21.09.2005). Local people assume that the murder of Sulumbek Kastoev and the targeted attempts at other members of his family are an act of revenge by the Chechen guerrillas, in retaliation for their involvement in anti-guerrilla operations. Sulumbek Kastoev had a wife and five children. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 797 Details of the murder of law-enforcement agents in Ekazhevo village On 3 November 2005 at the entrance point to the village of Ekazhevo of Ingushetia's Nasran district two servicemen of Ingushetia's law-enforcement agencies were shot dead by unidentified people who escaped from the scene of the accident. The RCIA has not managed to establish the particulars of the murdered policemen. On 3 November 2005 at about 2 pm a dark green “Zhiguli” car (with the state license plate #516, 6th region) in which the policemen were moving around was stopped by unidentified people at the entrance to Ekazhevo village. The market of building materials “Voltorn” is situated in the immediate vicinity to the scene of the accident. Having made the car stop, the assaulters opened targeted fire at the car. As a result, both policemen were killed. According to the report received from a RCIA correspondent who happened to be as the scene ten minutes after the accident had occurred, the policemen's car was riddled with bullets. There was much blood in the car. The driver of the car had a wound at his temple that caused death. Soon Ingushetia's special police unit arrived at the scene of the accident. They searched the territory of the cemetery situated nearby as some witnesses stated that the assaulters had disappeared in that direction. The attempts to capture them have brought no results. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 796 Preliminary court hearing of Dmitrievsky case: the judge had not complied with any of appeals of his lawyers On 3 November 2005 the preliminary hearing of the charges under article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation preferred to the chief editor of “Pravo-zaschita” newspaper and the executive manager of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Stanislav Dmitrievsky was held at the court of Sovetsky district of Nizhny Novgorod. The judge Bondarenko refused two appeals submitted by the defendant and his lawyers with one ruling. The appeals requested to exclude inaccessible evidence from the case and to close the case as there are no signs of a crime in the actions of the defendant. The next hearing of the case has been fixed on November 16, 2005 at 4 pm. The same day the Arbitrage Court of Nizhny Novgrod region is to consider the complaint submitted by the RCFS against the tax inspection that has had financial claims to the human rights organization amounting to more than a million rubles. Two lawyers are defending Dmitrievsky in court. They represent nationalities between which Dmitrievsky has allegedly stirred up hatred, according to the prosecution side. Yury Sidorov is an ethnic Russian (Nizhny Novgorod) and Leyla Khamzaeva is an ethnic Chechen (Moscow). As we reported earlier, on 2 September 2005, Stas Dimitrievsky, as chief editor of the “Pravo-zaschita” (Human Rights Defence) newspaper, was officially charged under paragraph b of part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code (“inciting hatred or enmity on the basis of ethnicity and religion”), offences which carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison, for allowing the (re)-publication of two peace appeals by Aslan Maskhadov and Akhmed Zakaev. This article carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The criminal case was commenced in January this year referring to the re-publication of peace appeals made by Maskhadov and Zakaev in the “Pravo-zachita” newspaper. Both publications contain tough rhetoric against actions of Russian authorities, the Russian federal forces and personally President Vladimir Putin in Chechnya. Human rights defenders consider all the measures against them as clearly politically motivated and aimed at curtailing the Constitutional right to have freedom of _expression. (From our correspondent)