| Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee
discusses situation in the North Caucasian region with the Russian
authorities 01.02.2005 - Representatives of the European Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) had talks last week in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don with senior Russian officials. The talks, held from 26 to 28 January 2005, focussed on the CPT's findings during its most recent visit to the North Caucasian region, which was organised from 24 November to 1 December 2004 and covered places of deprivation of liberty in the Chechen Republic and Ingushetia. The CPT's representatives had discussions with Dmitri KOZAK, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District, Sergei SHCHADRIN, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Yuri YALUNIN, Deputy Minister of Justice, Alexander SAVENKOV, Chief Military Prosecutor, Alexei KUZYURA, Head of the International Relations Department in the Federal Security Service, and Vladimir PARSHIKOV, Director of the Department for International Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They also met Vladimir LUKIN, Commissioner on Human Rights of the Russian Federation. The CPT's representatives were Silvia CASALE, President of the CPT, Mauro PALMA and Jean-Pierre RESTELLINI, members of the CPT in respect of Italy and Switzerland, together with Trevor STEVENS (Executive Secretary) and Petya NESTOROVA (Head of Unit) of the Committee's Secretariat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee returns to the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strasbourg, 3.12.2004 - A delegation of the European Committee for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CPT) has just returned from a one week visit to the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation. The visit was the seventh organised by the Council of Europe's anti-torture body to this part of Russia since 2000. In June 2003, the CPT issued a public statement concerning the Chechen Republic (http://www.cpt.coe.int/en). The latest visit was an opportunity to review progress made in tackling issues raised in that statement, in particular resort to torture and other forms of ill-treatment by members of the law enforcement agencies and federal forces, forced disappearances and impunity. In addition, the Committee examined for the first time the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Republic of Ingushetia. At the outset of the visit, the delegation went to School No. 1 in Beslan (North Ossetia-Alania) and paid homage to the victims of the terrorist attack which took place there in early September 2004. The delegation visited the following places of deprivation of liberty: ORB-2 (Operational/search bureau of the Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia responsible for the Southern federal region), Grozny SIZO (pre-trial establishment) No. 1, Grozny SIZO No. 2, Chernokozovo IVS (temporary detention facility) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Ingushetia, Nazran. The delegation also visited the Forensic Bureau of the Chechen Republic in Grozny as well as the forensic medical services in Mozdok and Vladikavkaz (North Ossetia-Alania). In addition, it interviewed certain prisoners at SIZO No. 1 in Vladikavkaz and studied documentation at the SIZO of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Vladikavkaz. During the visit, the delegation had meetings with Ramzan KADYROV, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic, Ruslan ALKHANOV, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Chechen Republic, Lyoma KHASUYEV, Acting Ombudsman of the Chechen Republic, Vladimir KRAVCHENKO, Prosecutor of the Chechen Republic, Alexander MOKRITSKY, Military Prosecutor of the Allied Group of Forces, and Mahmud KALIMATOV, Prosecutor of the Republic of Ingushetia. It also met representatives of the Chechen Bar Association and of the NGOs Memorial and Moscow Helsinki Group. Before leaving the North Caucasian region, the CPT's delegation discussed the main findings of the visit with Alu ALKHANOV, President of the Chechen Republic. * * * The CPT's delegation consisted of Mauro PALMA, the Committee's member in respect of Italy (Head of delegation), Jean-Pierre RESTELLINI, a Swiss medical doctor and member of the CPT in respect of Switzerland, Derrick POUNDER, a British forensic doctor, and two members of the CPT's Secretariat, Trevor STEVENS (Executive Secretary) and Petya NESTOROVA (Head of Unit). __________________________________________ 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 ______________________________________ February 1, 2005 Kadyrov Pledges to Halt Abductions in Chechnya The Associated Press Chechen Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, who heads a security force widely accused of committing abductions in Chechnya, said Tuesday that the Chechen leadership is committed to putting a halt to abductions. Kadyrov's remarks, as reported by Interfax, came amid a recent wave of concern over abductions and disappearances in the republic. The issue gained new attention last month after the reported disappearance of eight relatives of Aslan Maskhadov, a separatist leader who was Chechnya's president during its 1996-99 period of de-facto independence. Many Chechens and human rights groups say the security force run by Kadyrov -- son of assassinated Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov -- carries out abductions with impunity, and that many of the people seized are taken to a Kadyrov-run prison in Tsentoroi, the Kadyrov clan's home village. "All security and defense agencies will be jointly fighting against abductions," Kadyrov was quoted as saying. "This shameful phenomenon should be uprooted for the sake of stability in the republic." Kadyrov, however, appeared to obliquely acknowledge that Chechen security forces add to the tensions. "We are determined to stop detentions without charges, without notification of relatives about the places of confinement," he said. "The government will insist that a mechanism be developed to give an immediate answer to questions on who was detained and by which authority." The International Federation for Human Rights and the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights said in an open letter last week that Kadyrov's security forces had brought Maskhadov's relatives to the prison in Tsentoroi in an attempt to force Maskhadov to surrender. Last fall, Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov suggested detaining terrorists' relatives as a means to prevent attacks in the wake of the Beslan crisis. Chechen authorities have denied that either Chechen or federal forces had detained Maskhadov's family members. Chechen prosecutors have opened investigation of the disappearances of the relatives -- a sister, two brothers, two nephews and three distant relatives. "The slave trade has become a profitable business over the past decade. These people could have been abducted for subsequent ransom or in order to promote the release of some captured militant," Chechen prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko told Interfax. Meanwhile, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights on Tuesday issued an open letter to Russian officials expressing concern about the fate of a Chechen human rights lawyer, Makhmut Magomadov, who reportedly was seized by Chechen security forces on Jan. 21. Resolution of the Chechnya seminar in Helsinki Finland, January 21, 2005 We, organizers of the International Seminar on Chechnya ("Confrontation of the Russian State and the Chechen People - The Role of the International Community in the Peaceful Resolution of the Chechen Conflict"), held in Helsinki on 21 January, 2005: - note that the Russian authorities are attempting to solve this conflict with force only, avoiding any opportunity to open a dialogue in order to find a peaceful political solution; - condemn Russia for continuing the armed conflict in Chechnya which has lead to the eradication of nearly one third of the Chechnyan people and made human life impossible for the whole civilian population; - conclude that the Russian authorities are spreading dangerous racism in the Russian society by generating hate towards the whole Chechnyan population and by severely discriminating against Chechnyan people; - note that the isolation of Chechnya from the world is preventing humanitarian, human-rights and international organisations and representatives of independent mass media from gaining access to the territory, hiding the dreadful war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Russian military personnel and various special forces; - express at the same time our strongest criticism and frustratration about the indifference and lack of responsibility of the governments and leaders of Europe and the whole international community towards this aggression against the Chechen people; this lack of responsibility is even directly feeding terrorism in a wider region; 1. Demand that the Russian government assumes its responsibility and immediately stops all violations of human rights and other repression of the civilian population of Chechnya. 2. Demand from the leadership of the Russian Federation free access for Russian and international observers, representatives of independent mass media and medical and humanitarian organizations to the territory of the Chechen republic; 3. Demand that the Russian authorities stop all repression of the civil society and independent media, and intidimidation of individuals who try to defend their legal rights. Many of those Chechens, who have sought redress with the European Court of Human Rights have themselves become victims of serious human rights violations. They have been killed, "disappeared" or tortured. Many prominent human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have widely reported about these abuses In particular, we are extremely concerned about the raid of 20 January by the FSB to the offices of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Nizhny Novgorod, and the resulting threat to the safety of the persons connected to this organization. 4. We unequivocally condemn all attacks of terrorism against the civilian population and seizure and killing of hostages in Dubrovka and Beslan. Those who committed these acts (Beslan) can never be partners for a dialogue. No political or other cause can ever justify attacks of terrorism. 5. Demand that the EU governments finally assume their responsibility and make the utmost pressure on the Russian government to agree to start a peace process which will lead to real negotiations where Russia has to accept all groups which abstain from terrorism; propose that as a first step the EU will appoint a special envoy of Chechnya. 6. Demand that the authorities of the EU and Schengen countries must guarantee such personalities as Ahmed Zakaev, the personal representative of President Maskhadov, free movement within the European Union and Schengen area. Convened today in Helsinki, we have decided to form a European network of organizations and groups working for a peaceful solution to the conflict of Chechnya. We are determined to raise public awareness on the acute need to bring this bloody and cruel conflict to and end with political means. We will in particular address all parliamentarians, national and European, so that they will raise the issue in their parliaments. Helsinki, 21 January, 2005 Finnish PEN Club Finland-Chechnya Society Green League of Finland Chechnya: Human Rights Activists Say Police Involved In Abductions By Valentinas Mite Disappearances and kidnappings have plagued Chechnya for years. In the latest development, relatives of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov have been abducted. The Chechen Prosecutor-General's Office has opened an investigation into the disappearance of the eight Maskhadov family members. The war between federal forces and Chechen resistance fighters is now in its fifth year, and it is civilians who suffer most. It is not known how many civilians have been kidnapped, tortured, or killed. Prague, 1 February 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Chechen Prosecutor-General Vladimir Kravchenko said police are investigating the Maskhadov kidnappings, which happened in December but were only made public recently. It's not clear who carried out the abductions, but many, including human rights activists, suspect members of the police and some senior officials. Dmitrii Grushkin of the Memorial human rights center in Moscow told RFE/RL that while Memorial has no specific information on Maskhadov's relatives, it strongly believes the police, led by Ramzan Kadyrov, carried out the abductions as well as several others. "[According] to the information we have, behind the majority of abductions are members of local power structures, which are controlled by Ramzan Kadyrov," Grushkin said. Kadyrov is the son of late former President Ahmed-hadji Kadyrov, who was assassinated in Grozny in May. Observers say Ramzan Kadyrov controls a force of at least 4,000 fighters, and that the force's legal status is unclear. Grushkin's suspicions were supported yesterday by the head of Russian regional counterterrorist operations, Arkadii Yedelev. He told Russia' NTV television that "senior officials, certain servicemen, and bandit-group leaders are taking part in abductions." Usam Baysaev, a representative of the Memorial human rights center in Ingushetia, an autonomous republic bordering Chechnya, said he too has no specific information on the Maskhadov abductions. He said he believes it was clearly a political act to force Maskhadov -- who remains in hiding -- to surrender. Baysaev said he is skeptical the official investigation will yield much information. "They kept them [prisoners] for some purpose. Memorial and other organizations interfered and made the information public," he said. "It was a failure. They refused to concede it then decided that there was nothing to do and opened a criminal investigation. There should be no illusions about the criminal investigation. It is a rather formal thing." Baysaev said many in Chechnya are afraid of kidnappings and that no one feels safe. He said Chechnya has become a zone of lawlessness and abductions are some of the most shocking crimes. "You know, if we say that Chechnya is a zone of lawlessness, then among all crimes that happen in Chechnya, the most characteristic and most widely spread are abductions, which happen every day," he said. Baysaev said it is difficult to say who is behind these acts but that the kidnappings are usually carried out in broad daylight by persons traveling in military trucks. He said this points to some level of official involvement. He said in his opinion there is only one way to stop the kidnappings: to put greater pressure on Moscow, which wields significant influence in the republic. "I know what the international community on the whole should do. It should pressure Russian authorities on every such incident," he said. Baysaev said Western silence about human right abuses in Chechnya only encourages lawlessness. He said this silence makes ordinary Chechens feel completely powerless, forgotten, and resentful. Kavkaz Center Bombing and shelling terror in Chechnya continues On January 30 at about 5 AM Russian artillery once again bombed the mountain woodlands at the border of Shali and Vedeno Districts of Chechnya. Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship (SRCF) reported that Vedeno District (valley of the Hulhulau River) was hit the most, especially outskirts of the village of Serzhen-Yurt. Local resident, Ms. Taus Hamidova, 62, died of a heart attack during the artillery shelling in Serzhen-Yurt (Shali District). The area between the villages of Chishki and Dachu-Borzoi, Grozny Rural District, and the village of Duba-Yurt, Shali District, came under an intensive missile and bombing attack on January 27. Eyewitnesses reported that the fire was very massive: shells were exploding right near one another. A tractor (Belarusian-made 'Belarus' model), belonging to one of the locals, was burned when it was hit by a missile. The tractor’s owner survived. Meanwhile the situation got aggravated in Vedeno District due to the fact that gangs of Kadyrov, Jr. (Ramzan Kadyrov, son of former head puppet of Chechnya who was assassinated) entered the district capital. After his famous speech on local TV, where he was insulting Alkhanov’s police (also pro-Russian puppets) any way he could, Kadyrov’s men showed up in Vedeno, where along with the formations of Russian invaders they strongly increased terror against the local population. The locals reported that formations of Kadyrov and Yamadayev (another national traitor), which have been stationed in Vedeno for almost three years now, often get into arguments with each other on a regular basis, which results in shootings. Yamadayev’s men get openly outraged when Kadyrov’s men show up. They set up checkpoints against them, and this is where turf wars often take place. The locals also reported that Kadyrov’s men and Russian secret services are committing their atrocities mainly at night. They break into the houses of the locals under the pretext of searching for Resistance Fighters (Mujahideen). They rob the people or they just take the people away: the ones who are even remotely related to Chechen Mujahideen. Thus, Chechen sources reported that several days ago Kadyrov’s collaborators kidnapped a 29-year-old female relative of Commander Shamil Basayev and took her hostage. She was living with her elderly mother and two little children in Vedeno. Kadyrov’s collaborators broke into their home and severely beat the woman’s 5-year-old son with butts of their assault rifles when the son tried to protect his mother. The boy was lying unconscious for four days. No information is available on what happened to the mother. Kavkaz Center 2005-02-02 |