| August 19th 2005 · Prague Watchdog Grozny residents demand resumption of compensation payments By Timur Aliyev GROZNY, Chechnya - On August 18, a picket took place outside Chechnya's Government House in Grozny. About 50 people held placards demanding that the republic's leadership resume the payment of financial compensation for lost homes and personal belongings. The placards bore the slogans: "Give us back our compensation", "Change your minds! We'll declare a hunger strike" and "Shame on Russia and Chechnya". In connection with the picket, during the first half of the day the police closed the section of the motorway that runs past the government building. Payments of financial compensation in Chechnya were stopped on the decision of the local authorities several months ago, as it was officially explained, "in connection with numerous instances of infringement and abuse on the part of officials". Thursday's action on was a continuation of the picket held a week ago. Then a similar picket closed the road in front of the Rosselkhozbank building in the centre of Grozny. Last time the demonstrators dispersed after receiving promises that as soon as the money for the payments reached the republic, it would start to be paid out. The payments of financial compensation to the citizens of the Chechen Republic for residential property and personal belongings lost in the course of military actions involve a sum of 350,000 rubles (300,000 for lost residential property and 50,000 for personal belongings). In all, 142,000 applications have been filed, and scarcely more than half of them have been paid. Translated by David McDuff. www.watchdog.cz August 19th 2005 · Prague Watchdog Organization created in Chechnya for women whose relatives have disappeared without trace By Timur Aliyev GROZNY, Chechnya - Chechen women whose relatives have disappeared without trace have decided to create their own association. This was decided at a constituent assembly which took place in Grozny on August 18. Approximately 60 women and about ten representatives of human rights organizations spoke about the possibilities of searching for their disappeared relatives and of punishing those responsible for their disappearance. According to them, the recently created organization will work precisely in this direction, with priority given to an investigative response to cases of fresh disappearances of Chechen residents. The organization will include only women whose relatives have disappeared during "mop-ups" and night round-ups in Chechnya. The human rights activists who were present at the meeting are ready to help the women in the formation of the association. "In the initial stage we will help the new organization with its registration. We also intend to actively co-operate in getting the members of this organization invited to human rights conferences in Russia and beyond its borders. We hope for a partnership with the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia. Furthermore, we have already scheduled an appointment for a meeting with Chechen President Alu Alkhanov," said Minkail Ezhiyev, one of the initiators of the assembly and cochairman of the regional branch of the Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship. According to the data of the "Memorial" human rights centre, in the first half of 2005 142 residents were abducted in Chechnya. Of these, 53 were freed, 5 were found murdered, 2 are under investigation, and 82 have disappeared. In the five previous years of military actions in Chechnya approximately five thousand people have disappeared without trace. Translated by David McDuff. www.watchdog.cz Over 90% of Chechnya in poverty Aug 23 2005 Moscow - More than 90% of the population in war-torn Chechnya are living below the poverty line, on less than €72 (R570) per month, according to Russia's economic development and trade minister. "99% of the population of Chechnya fall into the poorest category," German Gref told a cabinet meeting as he presented official statistics on poverty in Russia for the year 2004, according to the ITAR-TASS news agency. The minimal monthly income which marks the poverty line in Russia has stood since December 2004 at 2 451 rubles (R555.47), according to the website of the national statistics office. Beyond the republic of Chechnya, where the economy is crippled by fighting between Russian forces and separatist rebels, the republics of the North Caucasus had among the highest poverty and unemployment rates in Russia. In Ingushetia, which neighbours Chechnya, the average monthly income stands at just 1 350 rubles, according to the 2004 figures, compared with a national average of 5 141 rubles. Gref highlighted glaring income inequalities between Russian regions, with more than 55% of people in southern Kalmukia living beneath the poverty line, compared with just 7% in the far northern Nenets region. At national level, an average of 17% of people were living in poverty, although Gref said that overall poverty levels were hoped to fall to 10% by 2008. The war-torn republic of Chechnya appears in official Russian statistics tables but with the columns listing economic indicators left blank. Russian forces retreated from Chechnya after a 1994-1996 war against separatists and returned in 1999, taking control of most of the tiny republic in heavy fighting. However, five years on, they continue to suffer almost daily losses against guerrillas. The latest Russian census set the population of Chechnya at 1.1 million although many rights campaigners say the real figure is up to a third lower. http://www.finance24.com/articles/economy/display_article.asp?Nav=ns&lvl2=econ&ArticleID=1518-1785_1756446 eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 22/8/2005 Terrorist act in Ingushetia An unidentified radio-controlled explosive device went off near the republican hospital in Giatbek Hajji St in Nazran, Ingushetia, at 3.50 pm on Monday. The bomb was planted under a gas pipeline, a source with the republican Internal Affairs Ministry said. He added that the pipeline was of a low-pressure type, which had prevented fire. The explosion damaged a police vehicle, a truck and one BMW car, killing its driver. Besides, three more people were wounded, according to the Southern regional centre of the Civil Defence and Emergencies Ministry as quoted by Interfax. Another major terrorist act was prevented in Ingushetia in the morning today. A bomb was found at a filling station near the federal motorway Kavkaz ("Caucasus") at the intersection of the road from the capital of Ingushetia, Magas, to Nazran. The bomb, ready to detonate, was found in the basement of a structure. It was planted at the same level as fuel cisterns at the filling station, NEWSru.com quotes the acting Minister of Internal Affairs of Ingushetia as saying. According to the Ingush Internal Affairs Ministry, an act of terrorism had been committed several months ago not far from the place where the bomb was found, resulting in nine Ingush police officers wounded. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 22/8/2005 Victims in Chechnya An armoured personnel carrier triggered a home-made explosive device near Vinogradnoye, Grozny district. The incident occurred on a road from the Chechen capital to Chervlionaya, Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry told Caucasian Knot. Four servicemen of the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry's interior troops were wounded as a result, the police officer said. Ruslan Vakhayev nicknamed Sidik, so-called emir of Urus-Martan, was killed in Chechnya. His unit is reported to have committed attacks on and terrorist acts against officers of law enforcement agencies and residents of the Urus-Martan district and the Chechen capital in 2002-04. Ruslan Vakhayev is also said to have commanded the attack on Roshni-Chu, ITAR-TASS says. Eliza Gairbekov, resident in Sernovodsk, left for Grozny together with her son Deni, b. 2004, on 2 August and has since been missing, a source with Chechnya's law enforcement agencies told Interfax. The woman with her child departed from Urus-Martan, according to the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. Besides, a 27-year-old woman left home and has since been missing in Grozny's Leninskii district. San Francisco Chronicle Mothers of massacred children take over court Russian women demand that Putin be held responsible Michael Mainville, Chronicle Foreign Service Wednesday, August 24, 2005 Vladikavkaz, Russia -- Distraught mothers of children killed in the Beslan school massacre last September have taken over a courtroom being used for the trial of the sole surviving hostage-taker and are demanding that President Vladimir Putin and other top officials be held to account for the tragedy. Standing on the steps of the courtroom in the regional capital of Vladikavkaz, Susanna Dudiyeva, whose 13-year-old son Zaur was killed in the school siege, said she and about 15 other women would leave the building only "in handcuffs." "We are demanding that all of those whose actions or failure to act led to this tragedy be held responsible," said Dudiyeva, the head of the Beslan Mothers' Committee, a victims support group. "Since legal measures have failed us, we have to take extreme measures." The people of Beslan are preparing for three days of ceremonies to commemorate the first anniversary of the deadly school takeover, which started last Sept. 1 when terrorists seized a school in the southern Russian community and demanded that Russia end its 10-year campaign to crush a separatist movement in Chechnya. The siege ended in a bloodbath two days later when Russian forces stormed the school amid gunfire and explosions. According to official figures, 331 people were killed, more than half of them children. The courtroom occupied Tuesday was being used for the trial of Nurpashi Kulayev, a 24-year-old Chechen alleged to be the only surviving perpetrator of the siege. His trial on charges of banditry, terrorism, hostage-taking and murder began in mid-May. Dudiyeva said survivors and relatives of those killed were angry at authorities' attempts to pin the blame for the deaths solely on Kulayev and other hostage-takers. "The investigators are not interested in finding the truth, in finding all of those who were guilty," she said. Dudiyeva said criminal cases should be opened against officials who refused to negotiate with the hostage-takers, who failed to properly prepare for a rescue operation and who approved the use of "tanks, flamethrowers and grenade launchers during the storming of the school." Protesters said Putin and Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, should be held personally responsible. "The most important name, the one we are all afraid to say, is Putin, the head of state, who is guilty of everything that happened," said another protester, Ella Kisiyeva. "He is finishing his presidential term and is being held accountable for nothing. He has still not deigned to meet with us and offer an apology." Holed up inside the courtroom, the protesters appeared to be preparing for a long stay. Supporters -- many of them relatives of the victims -- gathered outside the courtroom late last night and passed food and water to the women inside. Police were watching closely but made no move to forcibly evict the protesters. A spokesman for the prosecutor's office, Sergei Prokopov, said outside the courthouse Tuesday night that he didn't know whether the protesters would be allowed to remain on the premises. "That is a decision for the higher authorities to make," he said. Prokopov called the protest inappropriate, saying it was an attempt to hijack the trial. "This is a trial. Evidence is being presented, and the court will make a decision," he said. "This is not the place for public pressure and interference in the judicial process." In the year since the hostage-taking, Beslan residents have been growing increasingly frustrated with the official response to the massacre. Kulayev's trial and a parliamentary inquiry have done little to answer the central question of how the siege and the ensuing massacre were allowed to happen. Opening ceremonies were held in Beslan last week for two new schools built to replace School No. 1, which remains a gutted shell, pockmarked with bullet holes. The schools will open for classes on Sept. 5 -- four days after the official nationwide beginning of classes -- so that students can take part in commemoration ceremonies. Earlier this month, Dudiyeva sparked controversy by saying that Putin would not be welcome at the ceremonies. "We do not want to see at the commemoration ceremonies those who should have saved our children ... and did not fulfill their duties," she said at the time. Page A - 10 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/24/MNGHIEC4IS1.DTL&feed=rss.news Nizniy Novgorod Report # 596 Tax Authority Forcibly Withdraws Funds from Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Account On 26 August 2005, Nizhegorodsky regional tax authority (a city of Nizhny Novgorod branch of Russia’s Federal Tax Inspectorate (FTE) began forcefully withdrawing funds from operational bank accounts of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS). The action resulted from the tax authority’s decision pursuant to Article 46 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation - to fine the human rights organisation for an alleged failure to pay tax on the international grants they had received from foreign donors. The total sum to be written off their accounts is 844 227 roubles. This was done even though the tax authority’s decision of 15 August 2005 to subject the organisation to fine had been duly appealed against in the Nizhegorodsky Region Arbitration Court. Simultaneously, the human rights organisation had asked to stop any further court procedures until the appeal was heard. The Court was supposed to regulate on this matter next week. The tax authority used the time gap to deprive the human rights defenders of all financial resources. In the words of Stanislav Dmitrievsky, RCFS Executive Director, this action was conducted in severe breach of the existing legislation. For the first time in the history of the Russian Federation, it creates a precedent whereby profits from operational grants to a non-governmental body were subjected to state taxation. This targeted and discriminatory action is aimed at paralising the legitimate activities of a registered non-governmental organisation that has become an inconvenience for Russia’s authorities. If we do not stop the law-breaking bureaucrats straight away, there will be further victims. Everyone must realise that the whole of the country’s non-governmental sector is now under severe threat. Editor in Chief Stanislav Dmitrievskiy Shelkovskoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 590 Local policeman of Borozdinovskaya has to be the scapegoat On 24 August 2005 the court hearing was held in the Chechen Shelkovskoy district court where the complaint lodged by lawyer Akhmed Malaev who defends the former Borozdinovskaya village police officer Vizhaev Khasan Khamidovich. Vizhaev is the only person detained on a charge of being involved into abduction of eleven residents of this village on 4 June 2005. Vizhaev is accused of committing crimes that are fixed in p.3 of Article 285 (the abuse of power) and p.3 of Article 286 (criminal passive negligence). On 24 June 2005, Akhmed Malaev lodged a complaint to the court of the Chechen Shelkovskoy district in which he requested to cancel the decisions taken by the martial court to commence the criminal case against his client and to detain him as unlawful. The lawyer was going to lodge his complaint to the martial court of the garrison. However, the prosecutor of Shelkovskoy district told Vizhaev’s lawyer that his client’s case had been sent to the territorial prosecutor’s office from the martial prosecutor’s office and, thus, in his opinion, the complaint should be considered at the general jurisdiction court. On 24 August the complaint lodged by Akhmed Malaev was considered in court. During the court sitting some witnesses from among those residents of the village whose rights were violated gave their testimonies and were questioned. According to them, on 4 June 2005 the accused man was in the settlement of Shelkovskaya and he learnt about the special operation carried by the service personnel of “Vostok” battalion at the Main Intelligence Department at the Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation only an hour after the fighters of this battalion had left the territory of the settlement. Thus, the witnesses refused from the testimonies given by them before that Vizhaev participated in the assault at Borozdinovskaya settlement. According to the people, they had to give false testimony under pressure imposed upon them by the servicemen of the district prosecutor’s office who promised to provide them with papers necessary to receive money adjustments from Akhmad Kadyrov Foundation. As none of them have received the money promised by the staff of the prosecutor’s office, they decided to refute their testimonies. Thus, in Akhmed Malaev’s opinion, all the accusations brought against the village police officer are absolutely groundless. Nevertheless, Vazhaev is still being kept in custody at a temporary detention center (IVS) whereas prosecutors are making reports about his detention and the big success that they have reached in their investigation into the events that took place in Borozdinovskaya. At that, the prosecutors refuse to reveal the name of the detained person referring to the seal of secrecy on investigation. Malaev states all that is very convenient for those who would like the actual perpetrators escape penalty. Judge Nikiforov made the verdict to send the complaint lodged by lawyer Akhmed Malaev to the martial court situated in the village of Khankala. He explained his decision by stating that consideration of such complaints is under jurisdiction of the martial court as the decision to detain the accused person had been taken at the martial court. (From our correspondent) Reports from the RCFS Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 593 Unlawful detention of a resident of Shali On 25 August 2005 the service personnel of unidentified force agency subjected Viskhan, a 17-year-old resident of the town of Shali of the Chechen Shali district center to arbitrary detention. Viskhan lives in Rechnaya Street. His surname and the details of his abduction are being established. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 594 Force agents are accused of stealing vehicle On 24 August 2005, four servicemen of a force agency were detained in the Chechen Shali district center on suspicion of stealing vehicles. The particulars of the detained people have not been revealed. However, it is known that all the four people have been detained before by law-enforcement agencies being charged of extortion. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 595 Two men are abducted in the village of Pamyatoy Early in the morning of 26 August 2005 a group of identified people moving around in seven UAZ cars without any state plates abducted two residents of the village of Pamyatoy of the Chechen Shatoy district, Nimbulatov Ibragim (aged 30) and Babuev Zelimkhan. According to the preliminary information, both men were taken out of the territory of Shatoy district. The whereabouts of the abducted men have not been established. (From our correspondent) RUSSIAN-CHECHEN INFORMATION AGENCY - Reports #570-588 http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 588 Relatives of an abducted man turn to human rights advocates 25 August 2005. As of the present moment, the whereabouts and the destiny of Ruslan Agamirzaev (born 1984) who was abducted on 10 June 2005 remain unknown. Agamirzaev is a resident of Argun town of the Chechen Shali district where he lives in Voroshilov Street. According to the mother of the abducted man, Ludmila Agamirzaeva by name, the perpetrators were dressed in camouflage uniform and their faces were covered with masks. They drove up to the house in two vehicles: GAZ-469 and VAZ 21099. Ruslan was in the yard of his household at that time where he was looking after his 9-month-old daughter. The perpetrators dragged Ruslan into one of their cars which drove away to unknown destination immediately. Ruslan’s wife made an attempt to prevent them from Ruslan's abduction but they just threw her aside violently. Ruslan Agamirzaev’s elder brother Salman (born 1977) was killed not far from his house in a special operation carried by the Russian military in Argun. In 1997-1999, Salman worked as a guard at the Islam institute in Argun. In summer 1999 he started to work at the Ministry of Information of the Chechen republic of Ichkeria that was headed by Movladi Udugov at that time. In 2000 he was detained in a special operation carried in the Chechen district center of Vedeno. The military kept the man in custody in Vedeno for a few first days and then he was taken to the main base of the Russian federal forces in Khankala settlement. He was subjected to torture for a week there. Then the military took his documents and set him free not far from the village of Berdykel of the Chechen Grozny rural district. After his release, Salman had to stay at home all the time as he was afraid of passport checking. After Salman’s death, Ruslan’s other brother, Aslan by name, left his home and asked his mother not to search for him. His relatives have not heard anything from him since that time. Nevertheless, Ruslan tried to find his brother and he got into contact with members of the Chechen armed resistance movement to achieve it. Almost at the same time Ruslan happened to discover a sack buried in his kitchen yard. There was rusty ammunition in it. In 2004 a criminal case was commenced against Ruslan in reference to Article 208 (involvement into activities of unlawful armed formations) and 222 (illegal possession of firearms). He was made to give a written undertaking not to leave a place as a preventive punishment. The accusations against him referring to Article 208 were withdrawn as a result of the investigation. The court trial on charges against Agamirzaev of illegal possession of firearms was to be held on 23 May 2004. However, on 21 May Ruslan was abducted from his house by a group of unidentified armed people in uniform camouflage moving around in several silvery VAZ 2109 cars. They left Ruslan’s passport at home. Ruslan’s mother immediately reported her son’s abduction to the local police office. The investigator Lugansky came to her and took Ruslan’s passport with him. Thirteen days after that Ruslan was released. He was taken to the outskirts of Khankala settlement where he was thrown out of the car. He had been beaten up. On returning Ruslan home, his mother came to the local police office to take her son’s passport. However, Lugansky asked the woman to write a statement that her son spent this time in Naur district center and the he was not abducted. At first, Ludmila refused to write such a statement but she was pressed by the investigator and signed the paper. After that she received Ruslan’s passport but Lugansky told that Ruslan would have not to leave his house as they needed this paper to be signed by him too. In a few days the same investigator came to Ruslan and the man signed some papers. A few hours after that visit the young man was abducted. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 587 Resident of Grozny is released after being beaten and tortured On 18 August 2005 a young man living in the settlement of Karpinsky situated within the precincts of Grozny was released after his abduction committed by the service personnel of Staropromyslovsky district police office on 16 August 2005. That day they took the man away from his own house without any explanation. The relatives of the released man have refused to reveal his particulars for safety reasons. However, it was established that having abducted the young man, the policemen took him to the village of Tsentoroy of the Chechen Kurchaloy district where he was subjected to unmerciful beating and torture with electric shock. The man was forced to give evidence against him of being involved into committing acts of terror. He gave in and signed some papers. Although some mediators who participated in the man’s releasing assured his relatives that all those papers would be destroyed, there is no certainty that the released resident of Grozny is safe. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 586 Quarrel between residents of Kharachoy village resulted in injuring of one of them On 22 August 2005 a quarrel started between a resident of Kharachoy village of the Chechen Vedeno district Utsuev Anzor (born 1983) and the chief of the local branch of the security service Ezhiev. The latter fired two shots at Utsuev from 7,62-caliber submachine-gun and wounded him. Utsuev was immediately taken to Shali district hospital. The following day he was moved to city hospital #9 in Grozny. The criminal case has been commenced and the investigation is being conducted. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 585 Shelling of Shatoy district On 24 August 2005 at 11 pm the outskirts of several settlements of the Chechen Shatoy district were subjected to shelling by the artillery of the Russian federal forces stationed in the village of Borzoy of the Chechen Shatoy district. The outskirts of the village of Pamyatoy were subjected to especially mighty shelling. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 583 Heads of Elistanzhi village have resigned On 23 August 2005, the head of the administration of Elistanzhi village of the Chechen Vedeno district Gastiev M.A., Mullah Takalashev A.V. and the chairperson of the council of the leaders Zakaraev S.A. announced their decision to resign from their positions. According to the local people, their resignations have been caused by the threats that they received from people involved into the guerrilla movement. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 582 Member of the armed resistance movement is detained in Urus-Martan On 22 August 2005 the service personnel of Urus-Martan district police office and ORB-2 (Operational Investigative Bureau - 2) based in Urus-Martan district center detained Vakhaev Magdan (born 1986) in one of the private households in Pushkin Street on charges of being involved into the Chechen armed resistance movement. The information was obtained from a source within the police. According to the report disseminated by the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, the detained man “was a member of the unlawful armed formation headed by Ruslan Vakhaev and he was an accomplice in many crimes committed in the territory of the Chechen Urus-Martan district”. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 581 One more case of abduction is reported to the police On 22 August 2005 relatives of Aleroev Yusup Umarovich (born 1982) turned to the police office of Leninsky district of Grozny and reported that he was abducted by a group of unidentified armed men in camouflage from his own house in Lermontov Street. The whereabouts and destiny of the disappeared man remain unknown. The information was obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 580 Policeman is killed in Novye Atagi On 22 August 2005 in the village of Novye Atagi of the Chechen Shali district, unidentified people opened fire at GAZ 3110 car belonging to a local policeman, a private of the patrol police Mintsaev Apty Vakhaevich (born 1977). The policeman received severe wounds and died on the spot. His brother Abu Vakhaevich who was in the same car was also wounded. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the fire reportedly started when it was leaving the territory of their household at 16 Gorky Street. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 579 Body of one of the teenagers that fell down into a precipice is found On 23 August 2005 a group of rescuers have found the body of the second teenager who was in the car that fell down into a precipice in the Chechen Shatoy district on 15 August 2005 (see O.R. from 17 August 2005 from 15 August 2005). The body was found on the bank of the Argun River not far from the village of Chishki of the Chechen Shatoy district. His name was Lyoma Eserbaev. The corpse of the other teenager was found in the car that fell down into the Argun gorge on 16 August. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 578 Details of the disappearance of the mother and her one-year-old child On 23 August 2005, a correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency met with relatives of Eliza Gayrbekova living in the town of Sernovodsk of the Chechen Sunzha district at 3 Sovkhoznaya Street who disappeared together with her one-year-old son Deni on 2 August 2005. Some new details of their disappearance were established (see O.R. from 22 August 2005). On 1 August 2005 Gayrbekova Eliza Sharanovna (born 23.09.1978) together with her son Deni Sultanovich (born 9.04.2004) left Sernovodsk for the village of Roshni-Tchu of the Chechen Urus-Martan district as she wanted to visit her relatives (her father and two brothers). Eliza doesn’t have a mother. On 2 August at 8 am Eliza’s brothers carried her to the bus station in Urus-Martan district center where she took the bus going to Grozny. The woman and her child were last seen at the bus station in Grozny. There has been no information about their whereabouts since that time. Eliza Gayrbekova’s relatives have reported their disappearance to the district police office and the prosecutor’s office but it has brought no results. The destinies of the woman and her child remain unknown. Eliza Gayrbekova is a housewife. After finishing school, she got married to Dileev Sultan Lukhmanovich (born 1968) and she has spent almost all her time at home. Eliza’s husband told a correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency about his brother’s, Dileev Magomed Lukhmanovich (born 1974) disappearance on 5 June 2005. That day at about 11 am he left his house in his shimmering yellow “Zhiguli” car, the state plate VTs 121 ? 95 Region. His friends Sulaev Timur Bashirovich and Omaev Tugan Movladovich (aged 27) were with his and they disappeared too. Sulaev and Movlaev are servicemen of the Anti-terror center located in the village of Prigorodny situated within the precincts of Grozny. Eliza Gayrbekova’s relatives assume that her disappearance might have been connected with the disappearance of magomed Dileev and his friends. Sultan Dileev’s neighbors are worried about this series of disappearances. According to Abdurakhman Gelagaev (born 1924), the members of this family have not been involved in any kind of criminal activity or activities of the so-called unlawful armed formations. (From our correspondent) Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 577 Armed clash in the village of Eshilkhatoy In the evening of 22 August 2005 a group of Chechen guerrillas assaulted a unit of the federal forces stationed in the village of Eshilkhatoy of the Chechen Vedeno district. According to the testimonies of the local people, the armed clash between the Chechen guerrillas and the Russian military unit lasted for approximately an hour and a half. After that the Chechen guerrillas disappeared in the nearby forest. There has been no information about the casualties of both sides. Because of the guerrillas’ assault at the unit of the federal forces, in the evening of 22 August the Russian military checked the passports of all the residents of the Eshilkhatoy village. None of the local residents was detained in the special operation. In addition, at night from 22 August to 23 August 2005, the vicinity of the village was subjected to shelling by the Russian artillery. There has been no information about casualties among the civil population. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 576 Female resident of Grozny is released after her arbitrary detention Late in the evening of 22 August 2005, a resident of Grozny Gazmagamaeva Zarema Vakhaevna (born 1978, 5b Dyakonov St, ap.88) was released after she had been arbitrarily detained on 19 August at a local market. The girl’s relatives are too intimidated to tell all the details where the girl was held in custody. According to them, at present Zarema is staying with her father’s relatives. The girl is an orphan and it is her aunt Aminat who lived together with her in Grozny. As we reported before, on Gazmagaeva Zarema was abducted at the market located in the Mikrorayon area in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny. According to the girl’s aunt’s testimony, the niece came up to her being accompanied by two unknown men in uniform. The girl looked very worried. She told her aunt that she was going to identify an acquaintance of hers. To all appearances, the unknown men who were accompanying her were servicemen of some law-enforcement agency. They didn’t introduce themselves but explained that their unit was stationed at 17 Altayskaya Street. It is an important detail as the 1st building of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic is located at this address. The men promised that they would take the Zarema home after the identification has been over. However, her relatives haven’t received any other information about the destiny and whereabouts of Zarema Gazmagamaeva. The girl’s parents turned to the police unit stationed at this address. However, the serviceman on duty stated that the girl with such a surname was not registered in their log. After that Zarema’s relatives handed in their written statement on Zarema’s disappearance to Leninsky district police office. Yesterday the policemen from this police office visited the girl’s relatives and questioned them on the circumstances of her abduction. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 575 Armed clash in Plievo: a member of the armed underground movement is killed, two militiamen are wounded On 23 August 2005 at 7.30 am in the village of Plievo of Ingushetia’s Nazran district the service personnel of Nazran town police office were involved into carrying an operative search activity when a resident of this village Bashir Pliev opened fire on them. Pliev has been wanted by the police. In the crossfire Pliev was killed and two police servicemen were wounded. Mustafa Kotikov, a senior officer of the criminal investigation department, received wounds in the area of his stomach and a thigh. The second policeman Nasruddin Yandiev was wounded in one of his arms. Both of them were taken to the central republican hospital. Bashir Pliev used to work as the chief of the Department of Self-Defense at the Interior Ministry of Ingushetia until June 22, 2004. He was suspected of organizing the assault on the force and administrative bodies of Ingushetia at night from 21 June to 22 June, 2004. He is thought to be Shamil Bassaev’s close friend. According to the testimonies of the people convicted of participation in that assault, Pliev accompanied Bassaev in his trips in Ingushetia many times. In 2004 the police searched his household and discovered many documents from the archive of the Ministry of the Interior of Ingushetia. According to a surgeon of the central republican hospital Timur Chapanov, the wounds received by the policemen are serious. They were X-rayed and it became clear that the bones have not been wounded. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 574 Blast in Nazran was caused by a landmine 22 August 2005. 17:40. A correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency has established new details of the blast in Nazran town of Ingushetia after he visited the scene of the accident. As of the present moment, an investigative team is working at the scene of the explosion that is located not far from the central republican hospital in Nazran. According to the information obtained from a police serviceman who was cordoning off the scene, the explosive assembly was planted on the road-bed and it exploded when a “Sobol” vehicle drove onto it. As a result of the explosion, a passer-by who happened to be in the immediate vicinity to the scene of the accident was killed. The name of the perished person has not been revealed. According to reports of some mass media outlets, there was an explosion in Nazran town of Ingushetia not far from the central republican hospital at about 4 pm today. One person was killed with the blast. Some other people were wounded. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 573 A corpse of a killed man is delivered to Shali hospital On 20 August 2005 the corpse of the man identified as Arsakaev Badruddin Sharputdinovich (born 1958) was delivered to the central hospital of the Chechen Shali district. Arsakaev was a resident of the village of Tevzana of the Chechen Vedeno district. The body bore numerous bullet wounds. According to the neighbors of the murdered man, unidentified armed people penetrated into Arsakaev’s house and shot the man dead. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 572 Member of the Chechen armed resistance movement is killed On 21 August 2005 the service personnel of the Urus-Martan district police office carried the operative search activity in the forested area situated close the settlement of Assinovskaya of the Chechen Sunzha district. They killed a member of the Chechen guerrilla movement in the operation. The killed man was identified as Sidik Vakhaev (born 1981), a resident of Urus-Martan district centre, according to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic. (From our correspondent) Shelkovskoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 571 Members of Chechen armed resistance movement are detained in Chechnya On 21 August 2005, the service personnel of the Gudermes district police office and police patrol regiment at the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic carried a joint special operation in the village of Staroschedrinskaya of the Chechen Shelkovskoy district in which they detained a man involved into armed resistance movement (born 1978). The name of the detained man isn’t revealed. According to the information obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, the police detained a member of the Chechen armed resistance movement in the village of Braguny of the Chechen Gudermes district (born 1973). The name of the detained man has not been revealed either. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 570 Resident of Grozny went missing As of 22 August 2005, the law-enforcement agencies of the Chechen republic are carrying operative search actions aimed at establishing the whereabouts of a Grozny resident Garbulatov Said-Emi Saidovich (born 1960) who lives at 9 Rosa Luxembourg Street, ap.5. Accxording to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, on 10 August 2005 Garbulatov left his flat and nobody has seen him since that. His relatives are unaware of the possible whereabouts of the man. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 569 Mysterious disappearance of woman living in Grozny On 19 August 2005, a resident of Grozny Gazmagaeva Zarema Vakhaevna (born 1978) living at 5b Dyakonov St, ap. 88 disappeared in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny. A correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency has managed to establish some details of the disappearance of Zarema Gazmagaeva. For instance, it‘s known that the girl’s aunt Aminat who was working as a seller at the market situated in Mikrorayon district is the last one who saw the girl. According to her testimony, the niece came up to her being accompanied by two unknown men in uniform. The girl looked very worried. She told her aunt that she was going to identify an acquaintance of hers. To all appearances, the unknown men who were accompanying her were servicemen of some law-enforcement agency. They didn’t introduce themselves but explained that their unit was stationed at 17 Altayskaya Street. It is an important detail as MVD 1 is located at this address. The men promised that they would take the Zarema home after the identification has been over. However, her relatives haven’t received any other information about the destiny and whereabouts of Zarema Gazmagamaeva. The girl’s parents turned to the police unit stationed at this address. However, the serviceman on duty stated that the girl with such a surname was not registered in their log. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 568 Murder in Argun town On 21 August 2005 at about 7.30 pm the corpse of a resident of the town of Argun (the Chechen Shali district) Khazbulatov Isabek Magomedovich (born 1947) was brought to the local hospital. Khazbulatov lived at 3 Polevaya Street. According to some eye-witnesses, the body bore stab-wounds in the area of the neck and his carotid artery was damaged. From a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic it became known that the police detained the brother of the murdered man Razambek Khazbulatov (born 1954). (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 567 Relatives are searching for a missing resident of the village of Sernovodskaya and her 1-year-old son As of 22 August 2005, the destinies and whereabouts of a resident of the settlement of Sernovdskaya (the Chechen Sunzha district) Gayrbekova Eliza (born 1976) and her 1-year-old son Deni Sultanovich remain unknown. Both of them disappeared on 2 August 2005. According to the relatives of the missing woman, she was seen the last time that day when she was leaving the district center of Urus-Martan. The child was with her. Their relatives haven’t heard anything from the woman since that. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 562 Shelling of the outskirts of Achkhoy-Martan district center At night from 18 August to 19 August 2005, the outskirts of Achkhoy-Martan district center were subjected to shelling by the artillery of the Russian federal forces. According to the local people, shelling started at about 11 pm on 18 August and lasted until dawn of 19 August at 20-30-minute intervals. It is also reported that residents of Achkhoy-Martan district center heard individual fire at the outskirts of the village. The service personnel of law-enforcement agencies were patrolling the center of Achkhoy-Martan riding throughout it in UAZ cars. The local residents assume that both shelling of the outskirts of Achkhoy-Martan as well as patrolling the territory of the village were connected with the mopping-up operation carried by force agencies against members of the Chechen armed resistance groups. It’s necessary to remind about the armed clash between the unit of guerrillas and the local law-enforcement units that took place at night from August 17 to August 18 2005 not far from the village of Bamut of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district. According to several electronic mass media outlets, including “The Caucasian Knot”, two Chechen guerrillas were killed: the emir of jamaat of the settlement of Sernovodskaya Kazbak Batalov and one of his fighters Adam Tochiev. As of the present moment, the situation in Achkhoy-Martan district remains tense. All the official establishments are being guarded more thoroughly; service personnel of law-enforcement agencies are patrolling the territory of the village. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 545 Twelve people wounded as a result of the blast in Grozny are taken to the city hospital #9 15 August, 2005. 16:45. The Information Agency at the Russian-Chechen Friendship received the information that twelve people were wounded and one teenager from among the staffers of the “Hollywood” filling station was killed as a result of the explosion of an unidentified explosive device planted there. The filling station is situated in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny. All the wounded people were taken to hospital #9 of Grozny. It was reported before that there was a mighty explosion not far from “Hollywood” filling station situated in Mayakovsky Street (see O,R. from 15 August 2005). (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 535 Abduction of a person in Grozny On 11 August 2005 a group consisting of some twenty people abducted Ayubov Mohamed-Ali Mamedpvich (born 1975) in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky district of Grozny), according to a source within the law-enforcement agencies of the republic. It is established that the perpetrators were moving around in three “Zhiguli” cars of the 99th model. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 534 Abduction of a resident of Urus-Martan district centre On 11 August, 2005 in Urus-Martan district centre of the Chechen Republic unidentified people moving around in two YAZ cars burst into the house #16 in Zapadnaya Street and abducted Khumadova Natasha Khamidovna (born 1960) who is sister of a military leader of the Chechen rebels Doku Umarov. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the abduction was perpetrated by six people. (From our correspondent) Shelkovskoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 533 Abduction in the village of Paraboch On 11 August 2005 in the village of Paraboch of the Chechen Shelkovskoy district some twenty unidentified people abducted Musaev Khamzat Maylaevich (born 1947) who lives there at 11 Lesnaya Street. The information was obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 532 Abduction in the village of Prigorodnoye On 8 August 2005 unidentified people in camouflage moving around in two “Zhiguli” cars of the 99th model burst into the house #17 in Kalinin Street in the village of Prigorodnoye of the Chechen Grozny rural district and abducted Kurbanov Suleyman Uvaysovich (born 1963), a resident of Khaybulinsky district of the Republic of Bashkortastan. The information was obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 531 A detention of a Chechen combatant On 11 August, 2005 the service personnel of the Grozny rural district police office carried out investigative actions in one of the houses on Shkol’naya Street in the village of Starays Sunzha of the Chechen Grozny rural district and detained a resident of the town of Argun (born 1982) on suspicion of being involved into activities of the Chechen armed resistance groups. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the detained man was involved into assaults at agents of law-enforcement structures in May 2004. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 523 Executive manager of the RCFS is interrogated as a suspect 11.08.2005. Executive manager of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and the editor-in-chief of ‘Pravozaschita” newspaper Stanislav Dmitrievsky was interrogated today at the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region as a suspect. The interrogation lasted from 2 until 4 pm (Moscow time) and it was carried by a senior investigator Oleg Kirukov. Dmitrievsky’s lawyer Yury Sidorov was present at the interrogation. In the beginning of the interrogation the investigator informed Dmitirevsky that he was suspected of committing a crime that part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers 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”. He also acquainted Dmitrievsky and his lawyer with the resolution No 292 from 11 January 2005 to open a criminal case on signs of crime that Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to (public incitement to extremist activities) and notified them that later the incriminated article was changed. The maximum penalty for the crimes that part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to is 2 years in prison. The investigator didn’t ask any new questions in comparison with those that Dmitrievsky had had to answer before when he was regarded as a witness to the criminal case. He has not been put under any restraint. To answer the prosecutor’s question whether he agreed to the assumption that there were statements about superiority of the Chechen nation over the Russian nation in Maskhadov’s and Zakaev’s appeals that were published in “Pravozaschita” newspaper, Dmitrievsky told, “I consider these conclusions absurd. There isn’t a merest hint at such things in these publications. Otherwise, I would never have published them. And not due to the fact that it contradicts the law, but mainly because discrediting people on the grounds of their nationality, inciting to ethnic or religious hatred contradicts to my personal convictions. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was established in order to withstand these negative tendencies. These two appeals are absolutely tolerant. I published them with the aim to acquaint our readers with the point of view of the leaders of one of the sides of the conflict about its roots and ways of its peaceful reconciliation”. To answer the question about his attitude towards the policy of the Russian leadership in the North Caucasus, Dmitirevsky told, “This is a disastrous policy. It is disastrous not only regarding tiny Chechnya, but huge Russia too. The war waged in Chechnya in order to let Putin access the throne has resulted in curtailing democratic freedoms in Russia, establishment of the police state and general sliding the Russian society into fascism. According to the survey conducted by “Levada-Centre”, 58% of their respondents are supporting the slogan “Russia for Russians”. The number of Germans running on Fascist lines before Hitler came to power was even much less. Putin’s policy in the North Caucasus is going to lead Russia to disaster”. As we reported earlier, As we reported earlier, on 11 January 2005, the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region initiated a criminal case charging “The Pravosaschita” newspaper of publishing a statement made by the president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov, in which he appealed to the European Parliament, and an appeal of his foreign representative Akhmed Zakaev to the Russian people. These two Chechen leaders called to the peaceful reconciliation of the Russian-Chechen armed conflict in their statements and expressed their opinions about its causes and reasons. Zakaev also called not to vote for a presidential contender Vladimir Putin at the coming elections as, in his opinion, the latter was supported by the party of war. “The Pravozaschita” newspaper is a joint project of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper is Stanislav Dmitrievsky who is also the managing director of the RCFS and the editor-in-chief of the Information center at the RCFS. According to the Russian law, it’s him who is responsible for the compliance of the articles published in the newspaper with the norms of the Russian legislation. The case was initiated in reference to part 2 of article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that is public incitement to extremist activities through mass media outlets. The case was investigated by the FSB as this article is under its jurisdiction. In April the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society appealed to specialists of the Independent Law Council of Experts (Moscow) to carry the legal expertise of the incriminated publications for the purpose of establishing signs of the crime that article 280 of the Criminal Code refers to. The expertise came to the conclusion that there were no signs of this crime in the aforementioned publications. This decision of the commission of experts was adduced to the case. The FSB carried its own linguistic expertise of the incriminated publications simultaneously with the Independent Law Council of Experts. It was carried by specialists from the Ministry of Justice. Their experts also came to the conclusion that there were no utterances that can be considered under jurisdiction of Article 280 in the two incriminated publications. However, they made a decision that there were signs of the crime that Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to. This is inciting ethnic and religious hatred. As Article 282 of the Criminal Code is not under jurisdiction of the FSB, the case was sent back to the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region in the last ten days of April. Dmitirevsky learnt about it on 25 April at the prosecutor’s office where he was summoned for another interrogation as a witness. The leaders of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society are sure that all the attempts to find signs of the crimes indicated by both Article 280 and 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are groundless, absurd and politically biased. http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php |