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News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International AI Index: EUR 46/038/2005 30 September 2005 Russian Federation: No end to gross human rights violations in Russia's North Caucasus Amnesty International releases new findings in lead up to EU-Russia summit Amnesty International today released disturbing new findings from its latest field research mission which show there is no end to gross human rights violations in Chechnya and Ingushetia with the Russian authorities implicated in the torture, abduction and secret detention of civilians. Amnesty International says Russia's "war on terror" is being used as an excuse for systematic human rights abuses. The human rights organisation published details of abuses documented by its researchers who returned from the region this week. Their findings were released today simultaneously in London, Brussels and Moscow (see details below) in the lead-up to next week's EU-Russia summit in London on Tuesday 4 October 2005. In a briefing paper, Amnesty International said it had detected a new trend in the human rights abuses in the North Caucasus. People are reportedly being arbitrarily detained and held in incommunicado detention, where they are subjected to torture and ill-treatment, in order to force them to confess to crimes that they have not committed. Once they have signed a “confession” they are reportedly transferred to another detention facility where they have access to a lawyer of their choice and relatives; but the confession seems to be enough “evidence” to secure their conviction. Amnesty International says the European Union, as a collective body committed to upholding basic human rights, cannot ignore these findings. It calls upon the UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, representing the EU Presidency at next week's summit, to make it clear to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the torture and “disappearance” of men and women is inexcusable and must stop. Amnesty International also calls upon Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a clear statement to the EU and give public assurances that his government will take immediate action to halt abuses and ensure effective investigations and prosecutions of those suspected of committing crimes, and affirm the Russian Federation’s commitment to uphold international human rights standards. Amnesty International’s briefing paper calls upon the Russian authorities to: * Conduct effective investigations and prosecutions into cases of human rights violations in the North Caucasus; * Ensure that law enforcement agencies carry out any detentions in full accordance with international law; * Take practical steps to address the issue of missing persons and “disappeared” persons, particularly through introducing effective systems for identification and recording of bodies found and to make this information public; * Ensure the adoption by consensus of, and ratify, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Amnesty International briefing paper: "Torture, 'disappearances' and alleged unfair trials in Russia’s North Caucasus": http://amnesty-news.c.topica.com/maad29kabkNsfbeuxZvb/ RUSSIAN FEDERATION Briefing - Torture, "disappearances" and alleged unfair trials in Russia's North Caucasus Amnesty International releases today new findings that show there is no end to the serious human rights violations in the North Caucasus. What the Russian government describes as its "war on terror" in this region is being used as a pretext for violations that include "disappearances", torture, arbitrary detention and incommunicado detention in unacknowledged as well as official places of detention. There are ongoing reports of targeted violence against women by members of the security forces in Chechnya, in particular arbitrary detention, rape, and killing. Such violations are overwhelmingly committed with impunity, as very few perpetrators are ever identified and brought to justice. Chechen armed opposition groups are also reported to have violated international humanitarian law over the course of the conflict, including by targeting civilians. While "disappearances" continue, Amnesty International has received reports about a possible new trend in which people reportedly are being arbitrarily detained and held in incommunicado detention where they are subjected to torture and ill-treatment in order to force them to "confess" to crimes they have reportedly not committed, including "terrorist" crimes. Once individuals have signed a "confession" they are reportedly transferred to another detention facility where they have access to a lawyer of their choice and relatives; but the confession is used as "evidence" in court in order to secure a conviction. Amnesty International learned of such cases in Chechnya, as well as in the neighbouring republics of Ingushetia and North Ossetia. Relatives of "disappeared" people or people who have been tortured in custody are often reportedly obstructed by the authorities when they try to find out information or gain redress for crimes committed against themselves or their loved ones. The office of the procuracy – the organ responsible for investigating violations of the law – at all levels appears to fail to take effective action to investigate allegations of serious human rights violations. Many relatives pursuing their quest for information of the killed and "disappeared" say that they face intimidation and threats to drop their complaints or stop their search. Nevertheless there are people determined to see justice done regardless of such obstacles. When several men from the Chechen village of Novie Atagi were detained and held in incommunicado detention earlier this month, relatives and neighbours organized a picket blocking the village's main road, demanding to be told where the men were being held. Despite an atmosphere of fear in the village, which has seen a number of raids by security forces accompanied by ill-treatment and arbitrary detention over the past several months, some people were prepared to speak out about what is happening. The wife of Vakha Matuev, a Chechen who was detained in Ingushetia in March 2005 and has since "disappeared", spoke to Amnesty International. She said she was determined to do all she could: "so that they tell me where he is, what happened to him. Has he been killed, is he alive? ... I have the right as his wife to know what happened to him…. It's meant to be peacetime, that's what they say, peacetime, and yet this year in March a person is taken and he disappears without a trace, when there is not supposed to be a war going on, there has to be a reason for it." Relatives of five men and one woman who were killed by the Russian military in January 2002 near the village of Dai in Chechnya have not given up on the Russian courts. They continue to hope that the soldiers found responsible for the deaths of these six civilians will not be acquitted again of the crime of murder when a court in Rostov-on-Don reviews the case for the third time in October.(1) Justice -- and a return to their former lives -- is also elusive for those displaced by the conflict in Chechnya. Amnesty International delegates visited camps in Ingushetia where such displaced people have been living for several years. Conditions in the camps varied but were generally cramped and unsuitable. The conditions at a camp on the site of a former dairy farm were particularly harsh. Families had partitioned off living quarters in a large draughty shed that formerly housed dairy cattle. However, again and again the people living in these conditions told the Amnesty International delegates that they were afraid to take their families back home to Chechnya while the violence and abuses were continuing, and while it remained impossible for them to rebuild their destroyed homes. A female teacher working in one of the camps said: "If we are Russian citizens, then give us the same rights as everyone else. If we are not Russian citizens, then leave us alone …. Let us feel that we are people… there have been so many so-called `cleansing' operations, that there's nothing left to cleanse... During the Second World War I was a `traitor to the motherland',(2) in the first Chechen war I was a `bandit', and now I'm supposed to be a `terrorist'. How many more labels will they give me before I die?" Amnesty International has persistently addressed the Russian authorities with concerns relating to serious human rights violations in the North Caucasus, and has urged the authorities to take concrete action through detailed recommendations. Amnesty International has also repeatedly and expressly condemned abuses committed by Chechen armed opposition groups against the civilian population, such as the hostage-taking at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia in September 2004. Today, Amnesty International calls upon the Russian authorities in particular to: Acknowledge the gravity of the human rights situation in the North Caucasus, and put an immediate end to the ongoing grave abuses; Conduct effective investigations and prosecutions into cases of human rights violations in the North Caucasus; Ensure that law enforcement agencies carry out any detentions in full accordance with Russian and international law; Take practical steps to address the issue of missing persons and "disappeared" persons, particularly through introducing effective systems for identification and recording of bodies found and to make this information public; Take steps to ratify and implement the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. This information was collected during a research mission to the Russian Federation from 19 to 30 September during which delegates spoke to victims and relatives of people who have been "disappeared" or tortured, human rights activists and journalists. Amnesty International will be seeking the response of the Russian authorities to the organization's concerns. Selected cases: Alleged torture of "Akhmed" "Akhmed" (not his real name) was detained in August 2004 in Ingushetia by unidentified members of the security forces. He was allegedly taken to a basement which he believes to be the basement of the Federal Security Services (FSB) building in Ingushetia, where he was tortured, including being hung from handcuffs, beaten with batons and sticks, having water poured over him and being subjected to electric shock treatment, being threatened with rape and with being killed. Threats were also made towards his family members. The alleged torture was to force "Akhmed" to confess to having carried out a "terrorist" crime which allegedly he did not commit. Reportedly, after four days of torture, "Akhmed" agreed to sign all documents he was given, after which his blood-covered clothes were replaced and he was transferred to a district police station. There he was reportedly officially registered as having being detained on that day on suspicion of "terrorism". Only some time after this was he able to inform his relatives where he was, and what had happened to him. A medical examination in September reportedly found that "Akhmed" had sustained multiple injuries. However, in December the office of the district procuracy issued a decision refusing to open a criminal investigation into the alleged torture by FSB officers. "Akhmed" and his lawyer appealed this decision at the local district court, which earlier this month ruled that the decision of the procuracy had been unlawful. According to the lawyer, another man was detained by security forces during the investigation into the case and subjected to physical pressure in an attempt to force him to give evidence against "Akhmed". Alleged arbitrary and incommunicado detention and torture in the village of Novie Atagi, Chechnya According to reports, security forces have conducted a number of raids on the village of Novie Atagi, Chechnya, since January 2005 during which they check identity documents and detain men who are then taken to detention facilities where they are tortured and beaten to make them "confess" to crimes they have not committed. There are allegations that security services under the jurisdiction of first deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, are responsible for the raids. One such raid took place after a policeman was reportedly killed in the village on 22 August 2005. On 5 September, security forces conducted a document check in the village. Then, over the course of three nights from 12 to 14 September large numbers of armed men wearing camouflage uniform came to the village and detained at least eight men. According to one media report, the men introduced themselves as being law enforcement officers. However, according to relatives, the men did not produce any arrest warrants or any form of identification to indicate which official body they were from. On 15 September and for several days thereafter, villagers blocked the Kavkaz main road near Novie Atagi demanding to know where those detained had been taken, and for them to be released. During this period, some of the men who had been detained were set free. Allegedly some of them had been severely beaten while in detention, but did not dare to go to a hospital in Chechnya for treatment, travelling instead to neighbouring republics in the North Caucasus. The picket lasted for several days until it was established that four of the detained men were being held in the police detention facility (known as IVS from its initials in Russian) in Shali district police station. One of the four named as Ruslan Khalaev, aged 21, was detained at 3am on 14 September. The three others detained at some point during this period were Shakruddi or Sharudin Khalaev, aged 27, Magomed Elikhanov, aged 20, and Magomed-Emi Aguev, aged 18. A fifth man, Islam Bakalov, was reportedly subsequently also found to have been detained in the IVS. The five men are said to have been charged in connection with the murder of the policeman. According to reports, at least one of the men remaining in detention, Ruslan Khalaev, has been tortured including through being beaten with batons, having water poured over him and being tortured with electric shock until he agreed to sign a "confession" of guilt. Witnesses are also said to have seen him being beaten by law enforcement officials who had subsequently accompanied him to the alleged scene of the August murder of the policeman. Reported "disappearance" of Vakha Matuev, Ingushetia According to testimony received from Tsisana Duishvili, his wife, Vakha Matuev, born 1950, worked repairing and selling cars in Ingushetia. The couple have a young daughter, born in March 2004. Vakha Matuev had a car accident on 3 December 2004 in Chechnya, and had spent around six weeks in hospital, having sustained multiple fractures and other injuries. Since then he had been recuperating from the accident at home. On 24 March 2005 security forces carried out a passport check in the area of the Ingush town of Nazran known as Kamaz centre, where the family lived. At 9am the next morning, 25 March, Vakha Matuev was at home with a friend, when, according to witnesses, a group of armed men came to the family's house in two `Gazel' minibuses without registration numbers. All were wearing camouflage, and all but two were also wearing masks. One of the men without a mask allegedly introduced himself as "Ivanov", and spoke Russian. The men reportedly conducted a search of the house, and forced Vakha Matuev to get dressed, put him in one of the vehicles and took him away. According to reports, neighbours asked the men why they were taking Vakha Matuev away, as they said he was ill, but were told by the armed men that they were taking him to hospital. Since then, Tsisana Duishvili has received no information as to the whereabouts of her husband. She has been unable to find him either through personal contacts or by submitting information on the detention to the procuracy. When she tried to search for him by using personal contacts to try to get information from representatives of law enforcement agencies, she allegedly received the message back that "It would be better for you if you got on with your own business". She submitted a request to the Republican procuracy in Ingushetia to open a criminal investigation into Vakha Matuev's detention, but officials there allegedly informed her that the case had been transferred to Chechnya. When she asked why the case had been transferred to Chechnya when her husband had been detained in Ingushetia, a representative of the procuracy allegedly told her that if she wanted an answer to that question, she should submit a new written request for information. However, in the office of the Nazran city procuracy she was reportedly informed that in fact the case had not been transferred to Chechnya or anywhere else but instead was with their office. According to Tsisana Duishvili, the authorities have not opened a criminal investigation, nor have they taken any steps to ensure that she is informed about Vakha Matuev's fate and whereabouts. ******** (1) See AI Index: EUR 46/015/2005 and EUR 46/019/2005 (2) In 1944, Stalin deported the Chechen people en masse to Central Asia, considering them collaborators with the Nazi regime. eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 27/9/2005 Gas used against children, possibly Doctors and representatives of the Shelkovskaia district administration in Chechnya believe that a mass poisoning of pupils in Staroshchedrinskaia which occurred on 24 September was caused by a poison gas. "Originally, food poisoning was the main version to explain the mass poisoning of children in the Staroshchedrinskaia school. This was the diagnosis which doctors at the local hospital to which the pupils were admitted gave. However, it has been found out presently that the pupils had not eaten anything before they arrived in hospital. Therefore, there are no reasons to say that this was food poisoning," a source with the district administration said. "According to doctors' information, all the children felt bad practically at the same time. Some began to faint, and practically all of them had a headache, sickness, and stomach pains. Some health professionals believe that someone committed a terrorist act using a nerve gas. More so, that an examination and tests of the children confirmed that there had been no food poisoning, but there were all signs of a toxic effect," the source maintains. Special lab tests are required to get the exact answer about the causes of the mass poisoning of the schoolchildren in Staroshchedrinskaia. It is planned to involve military professionals to investigate the incident. Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent Beslan Victims Demand Replacement of Prosecutor Created: 29.09.2005 MosNews During a court session in the case of the only surviving Beslan terrorist Nurpashi Kulayev the siege victims demanded that Prosecutor Nikolai Shepel be replaced, RIA Novosti reported. The head of the Beslan Mothers Committee Susanna Dudiyeva said on behalf of the victims that Shepel was acting according to a scenario chosen beforehand: "He fills up an already made skeleton with the witnesses' evidence." "In my opinion, Nikolai Pavlovich has not provided an unbiased investigation since the very beginning. In my opinion, that is enough, but the last incident in the courtroom, when we stayed there for the night waiting for him, was an act of disrespect for us." In late August the victims demanded a meeting with the prosecutor in the court building, but Shepel said he was only ready to meet them at a prosecutor's office. An attorney for the victims, Taimuraz Chezhemov, also claims that Shepel and his committee of inquiry failed to investigate the hostage-taking and its consequences properly. In his point of view, a number of senior officials must be questioned, while the prosecutor refrains from doing so for some unknown reason. Nikolai Shepel said there is no procedural grounds to replace him. It is the judges who will decide, he stressed. He insists that the investigation has collected enough evidence in Kulaev's case to allow the court to reconstruct what happened in Beslan last September. He also stressed that he, time and again, met the victims and is ready to meet them each time it is necessary. "I am not only an investigator, my heart bleeds for them," he concluded. PACE Will Not Send Observers to Chechen Elections Created: 03.10.2005 MosNews The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe said Monday it would not send observers to monitor the elections to the Chechen parliament, scheduled for Nov. 27. The Assembly has ruled against sending observers to Chechnya, head of the PACE human rights commission, Rudolf Bindig, told the RIA-Novosti news agency. At the same time, PACE still plans to send a group of five or six officials to Russia's restive province to monitor the situation and gather data. PACE's rapporteur did not rule out that the forthcoming session of PACE's bureau to be held in January next year would hear a short report on the parliamentary elections in Chechnya. Russian human rights groups said Monday they would not send their observers to Chechnya either, the Memorial rights center told Ekho Moskvy radio. A spokesman for Memorial ruled out the possibility of a free vote in Chechnya today. Meanwhile, Russia's top electoral official, Alexander Veshnyakov, said Monday he was pleased with how preparations for the Chechen parliamentary elections are proceeding. "The preparations are proceeding normally and we have no serious fears concerning the elections," Veshnyakov told journalists on Monday. The Central Elections Commission's meeting on Oct. 7 will deal with this issue in more detail, he said. http://serwisy.gazeta.pl/swiat/1,34180,2949247.html Tomasz Bielecki, Moscow 03-10-2005, last update 03-10-2005 18:18 Russia contra the British Council Russia has declared a tax war against the British Council. The authorities want to force the Brits to abandon their aid plan for the schools in Chechnya and other republics in the Caucasus. [passage omitted re: Kommersant article below] Why Russia has begun again to fight with the Brits? Most likely Moscow got irritated by this British aid plan for the schools in Chechnya and other republics in the Caucasus. The aid (also finacial one) had to be distributed through the missions of British Council, that means independently from the Russian administration. It hard for Moscow to openly refuse this generous help, however to allow for unsupervised work of the Brits in Caucasus it's unthinkable for the Kremlin administration. - So Moscow wants to frustrate these plans by discouraging or discrediting the British Council - says human right defender Dmitry Ushakov. He also adds "that is hard to find a gesture of bad will" before the uncoming meeeting of Putin with Toni Blair. Kommersant, Oct. 03, 2005 http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=527&id=614076 Prosecutors Shape the Agenda for Vladimir Putin // The British Council case will be discussed at the top level// The Friendship of Nations Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin sets off on the European tour that will be crowned with Wednesday talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. On the eve of the visit, the Prosecutor's Office of St. Petersburg, initiated a criminal case against the local British Council. The scandal has been most probably stirred up by the Kremlin: this is the way Moscow hopes to convince London to review its North Caucasian Educational Initiative that the Russian party vehemently opposes. [passage omitted] The story unfolded a year ago. The investigation agencies started probing into the British Council last June when the Interior Ministry's Federal Economic and Tax Crimes Service demanded that the organization present its reporting. Tax officials found faults with the language courses at the British Council offices. Lieutenant General Sergey Verevkin-Rakhalsky, then head of the service, said that "this strange organization that earns enormous money" is engaged in commercial activities, and, consequently, must pay taxes. The British embassy answered that the British Council was its cultural department, and, consequently, it enjoyed the diplomatic status and was not under the Russian laws. The Russian Foreign Ministry refuted the information and emphasized that it did not "view the British Council offices as cultural departments of the British Embassy in Russia", since the Russian Government did not grant them the status, "moreover, the British did not request about it". Even at that time, experts made a link between an emerging pressure on the British Council in Russia and Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly on May 26, 2004. In his speech, the Russian president lambasted NGOs saying that many of them did not help people but only were only financed from different foreign funds and served "doubtful group and commercial interests". So, it came as no surprise that the repression fell on the British Council. London had already offended the Kremlin when it had denied handing over Aslan Maskhadov's envoy Akhmed Zakaev and other people of the Russian prosecutors' wanting list. What is more, the activities of tax officials were a kind of Moscow's answer to the tightened control of Russian spies in the UK, according to the information of Kommersant. Russian secret service men thought that their British counterpart had given up the unwritten rules of the international intelligent service community. Yet, the scandal over the British Council was settled within a week, even though it took the meeting between president Vladimir Putin and British premier Tony Blair at the G8 summit at Sea Island in the United States. Yet, the history is repeating a year later. Some analysts say it is a pure chance that the issue over the St. Petersburg office of the British Council cropped up a few days before the start of Vladimir Putin's European tour. Most experts believe, though, that it was the Kremlin that fueled the scandal, like a year ago. Moscow has recently taken up the old idea of Akhmed Zakaev's extradition again. "We notice that the situation has started to change after the July terror attacks in London. The people here are aware of the fact that the threat of terrorism is common for everyone, and we cannot divide terrorist into good and bad," Yury Fedotov, the Russian Ambassador to London, said last week. He did not rule out that the British party might alter its stance on the extradition of Akhmed Zakaev. Yet, the British Ambassador to Russia Tony Brenton dispelled these hopes the same day. "Zakaev will be extradited if Russia provides enough evidence; if it does not, he will stay in our country," the British diplomat stated. The Kremlin is not that naďve to suppose that the pressure on the British Council may make up for the lack of evidence against Akhmed Zakaev, but the story may stir up the British. And yet, it seems that the scandal aims at something else. Moscow is trying to make London re-examine its North Caucasian Educational Initiative. This February, London proposed the Russian authorities to earmark Ł1 of gratis aid from its coffers to develop school education and other social programs at North Caucasus. The financing of the project is supposed to be boosted later on. The only term is that it will be the British Council that will handle and control the funds. Moscow, always anxious to squeeze the Western NGOs and international observeurs out from the North Caucasus, does not fancy the idea much. The Kremlin suggested that the implementation of North Caucasus Educational Initiatives be reviewed so that a Russian structure would be in charge of the funds. London has been quite unenthusiastic about Moscow's proposals so far and referred to the Russia's inability to administer and control the funds. by Andrey Tsyganov, St. Petersburg; Alexander Reutov Russian Article as of Oct. 03, 2005 http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.html?docId=614076 No 185/P (No 3269) 03.10.2005, Pro-Moscow Chechen Govt. Clamps Down on Private TV 05.10.2005 MosNews The Chechen Marta TV channel based in Urus-Martan has been closed down by the republic’s authorities, Chechen Interior Ministry spokesman Ruslan Atsayev told the Interfax news agency Wednesday. The TV channel was closed down because it failed to obtain a valid license, the official explained. “The president [Alu Alkhanov] and the interior minister [Ruslan Alkhanov] took the decision to bring all private TV channels and other mass media outlets into conformity with the law. We are acting on this order,” Atsayev said. He added that according to police information, up to 30 commercial TV channels are broadcasting across Chechnya. In the meantime, a manager at the Marta TV channel told Interfax that the channel had been broadcasting for six years, its coverage had always reflected the official point of view of the authorities and the channel had never had problems with the authorities before. RCIA: various reports Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 708 Air raid in Vedeno district On 28 September 2005 at about 9.15 pm two aircrafts of the Russian Air Forces delivered a missile strike at a forested area situated not far from the village of Neftyanka of the Chechen Vedeno district. They launched more than ten “air-ground” missiles. As a result of the air raid, windowpanes were smashed in many houses and roofing was damaged with the blast wave. A local resident Rosa Sirieva (born 1934) suffered from the cardiac infarction that was caused by a stress she had been subjected to. The woman was taken to the district hospital and later was taken to hospital #9 of Grozny. As of the present moment, the woman feels much better. The next day after the air raid the police carried a special operation aimed at checking passport in the village. There have been no reports concerning detentions or human rights violations in the special operation. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 707 Resident of Nasran got undermined in his own yard On 29 September 2005 a resident of Ingushetia's Nasran town Magomed Magushkov (born 1974) was buried after he had got undermined in the yard of his own household with an unidentified explosive device at night from 28 September to 29 September, 2005. A correspondent of the RCIA reports one of the killed man's brothers as stating that the explosive device had been planted under an old half-dismantled car that was left in the yard. The device blasted when Magomed was passing the body of an old car on his way to the lavatory. His both feet were torn off with a blast. Magushkov was immediately taken to the nearest hospital where he dies from fatal loss of blood. The members of Magomed Magushkov family submitted their report to the local police immediately. Its representatives arrived at the scene of the occurrence, searched the place thoroughly and stated that Magushkov himself had made the explosive device to commit an act of terror. Magomed Magushkov's neighbors claim the killed man was not involved into activities of so-called illegal armed formations. He earned his living by working as a car mechanic. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 706 New information about the casualties caused by firing at a police car in Grozny On 30 September 2005 the Russian-Chechen Information Agency received information about the particulars of the people who were killed as a result of assault at a VAZ 2111 police vehicle perpetrated by unidentified criminals in Shosseynaya Street in Grozny on 29 September 2005. As we reported before, four people feel victims of the assault at the police car: its driver Magomed Bikhoev, the chief of the police office of the settlement of Pobedinskoye of the Chechen Grozny rural district Magomed Amorkhanov and two girls, aged 3 and 9 who happened to be near the scene of the crime (see our release No1523 from 30 September, 2005). Kometa Fatabaeva (born 1996) was reported among the casualties. A correspondent of RCIA carried his investigation and established that Magomed Bikhoev was a local policeman of the village of Pobedinskoye of the Chechen Grozny rural district. The killed girls were his daughters Seda and Kometa Satabaevs (the surname of the killed girl in the previous report was misspelt). Bikhoev's arms disappeared from the scene of the accident. According to residents of the village of Staraya Sunzha of the Chechen Grozny rural district where Bikhoev and his family lived, police servicemen are killed in this area rather often. In their opinion, they are caused by attempts to redistribute oil wells that are controlled by law-enforcement bodies of the republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 705 Firing on an car: there are two children and police officials among the casualties 29.09.2005. In Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, unknown armed people opened fire on a VAZ 2111 (state number V 074 YA) car. Magomed Bikhiev drove the car. As a result of shooting, four people were killed. Among the casualties there is the chief officer of Nadterechny district police office Magomed Amorkhanov, and two girls aged 3 and 9 who happened to be not far from place where the accident occurred. As the correspondent of RCIA has managed to find out, the accident happened at about 5 pm when a group of unidentified people moving around in three silvery VAZ 21099 cars opened fire at a VAZ 2111 car. The accident happened not far from the house situated at the address 3 Shosseynaya Street. As a result, the driver and his passenger, the chief of Pobedino police office located in the Chechen Nadterechny district Magomed Amorkhanov were killed. Two girls aged 3 and 9 who happened to be nearby were also shot dead by unknown people. One of the killed girls was identified as Kometa Fatabaeva (born 1996). In the prosecutor's office of the Staropromyslovsky region the correspondent of RCIA was told that a criminal case has been commenced under Article 105 (murder) and Article 317 (attempting a life of an official of law-enforcement agency). The investigation has started. The Press service at the Chechen Ministry of the Interior has refused to comment on the accident. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 704 Prosecutor impedes the case concerning threats against the RCIA staffers. 29.09.2005. The executive manager of RCIA, Stanislav Dmitrievsky was questioned today by the police about the harsh physical threats distributed on September 9th and aimed at him and Oksana Chelysheva, the editor of the English version of the Information Agency. It was the first questioning at the police although it is already 20 days since the threats were reported to the prosecutor's offices. According to the Criminal Code, the decision to commence criminal proceedings or not has to be taken not later ten days after the appeal is submitted. Dmitrievsky was called to questioning to an investigator at Nizhegorodsky district police office of Nizhny Novgorod. No criminal case has been opened yet, though. Dmitrievksy and Chelysheva brought allegation about the crime to the regional prosecutor on September 9th. In four days, on September 13th, the prosecutor in Nizhny Novgorod region gave the order to the service personnel to start collecting preliminary information into the case to Nizhegorodsky district prosecutor's office. They, in their turn, sent the case to the police office of Nizhegorodsky district on September 19th. As reported earlier, September 9th 2005, at about 7 pm, the officials of RCIA again received leaflets with harsh physical threats. The leaflets were pasted on the walls of the apartment building where Dmitrievsky lives, and also at his apartment door. Dmitrievsky and Chelysheva reported the threats to the prosecutor, claiming to unite two cases of threats into one criminal case. The first threats appeared on March 14th and they were aimed against Oskana Chelysheva. The leaflets were distributed in the area where Chelysheva lives. The case has been suspended by the prosecutor's office of Kanavinsky district of Nizhny Novgorod under the pretext that “it is impossible to establish perpetrators of the crime”. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 700 Editor of “Human Rights Defence” newspaper appealed to close the criminal case against him claiming that there are no signs of a crime in the case 26.09.2005. Nizhny Novgorod. The chief editor of the “Human Rights Defense” newspaper completed the procedure of getting acquainted with the criminal case commenced under part 1 of Article 282 (“inciting to ethnic hatred”) after he allowed publishing peace statements by Aslan Maskhadov and Akhmed Zakaev in the newspaper. Before signing the report on acquainting with the case, Dmitrievsky submitted two requests to the investigator at the regional prosecutor's office Oleg Kirukov. He asks to leave out inadmissible proofs from the case in the first petition. The second petition refers to the request to close the criminal case as there are no signs of criminal activities in his actions. According to Dmitirevsky, the conclusions of the linguistic expertise that the investigators consider as the main evidence have been received with gross violations of the Criminal Procedural Code. Thus, they have to be excluded from the case. Dmitrievsky states in his request, “According to paragraph 11 of part 4 of article 47 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, being an accused I have the right to acquaint myself with the order to carry the expertise, to put questions to the expert and to acquaint myself with the expert's conclusion. According to paragraphs 2-5 of part 1 of article 198 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian federation, I have the right to challenge the expert or to require to conduct an expertise by another expert agency, to ask to get the experts who I name to participate in conducting the expertise or to carry the expertise at a definite expert agency; to require to include additional questions to an expert to the order to conduct the expertise; to be present at the procedure of conducting the expertise if n investigator permits it; to offer my explanations to an expert. A chief investigator of Nizhny Novgorod region FSB branch lieutenant colonel of Justice R.N. Putanov gave the order to carry the expertise on January 18, 2005 whereas I was officially charged only on September 2, 2005. Thus, I was deprived of any opportunity to defend myself and to realize the rights guaranteed by paragraph 11 of part 4 of article 47 and paragraphs 2-5 of part 1 of article 198 of the Criminal Procedural Code. At the same time, all that has resulted in the basic principle of the legal procedure. This principal is equality of sides during a trial that is under part 4 of Article 15 of the Criminal Procedural Code. The accusation is based only on expert's conclusions and they were prepared on the basis of the questions asked by the investigator whereas the side of defense couldn't put their questions to the expert. In addition, the expertise was carried by a specialist who had been chosen by the investigator and I wasn't able to require getting specialists who I could name to participate in the expertise. I was not able to challenge the expert or to require conducting the expertise at a different expert agency. Thus, the prosecution side has found itself in a more favorable position than the side for the defence while conducting the expertise of the publications that I have been charged with. Moreover, some time before that you have refused my requests to conduct new linguistic expertise. By making that decision, you have deprived me of opportunity to realize my lawful rights once again. That's why, the expert's conclusions No 697/33 from 18 February, 2005 and No 698/33 from 18 February 2005 have been obtained with serious violations of the Criminal Procedural Law. They remain the main evidence in the case, though. Paragraphs 1-6 of part 1 of Article 198 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation give the list of the rights which an investigator has to explain to a defendant when a decision to carry an expertise is made. It has not been done either. According to paragraph 3 part 2 of Article 75 of the Criminal Procedural Code, the evidence obtained with violations of the requirements of the law are inadmissible. Such evidence does not have any legal force in accordance with part 1 of the Article 75. They can not be considered as main evidence to bring an accusation against a person”. Dmitrievsky requires leaving out the above-mentioned conclusions from the criminal case on the above-stated grounds. Dmitrievsky and his lawyer Yury Sidorov submitted an appeal to close the criminal case in connection with the fact that there is no other evidence of the crime in the case. Dmitrievsky thinks that these appeals will be refused too. “The case is politically motivated and the investigation has been carried with infringements of the law”, states the chief editor of the 'Human Rights Defense” newspaper. “They kept me as a witness to the case for seven months although it was clear from the very beginning who would be charged. It was done with the only purpose to restrict my possibilities to realize my Constitutional right to defend myself. I don't think that anything is going to change now as the logic of lawlessness that the FSB and prosecutor's office made the basis of this case is going to dictate the further unlawful acts of the investigation. I'd like to make a mistake but I know that no miracles are possible with the Russian prosecutorship”. On 2 September, 2005 Dmitrievsky was officially charged with “inciting to ethnic animosity on the basis of nation, nationality, language, confession as well as belonging to some social group” under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The criminal case was commenced in January this year regarding the fact of publication of open letters by Maskhadov and Zakaev with calls to peaceful reconciliation of the Russian-Chechen conflict. Both letters are full of tough critic of the Russian authorities, Russian armed forces and president Vladimir Putin personally. RCFS as well as a number of well-known Russian human rights organizations consider persecution of the RCFS by prosecutorship, the Interior Ministry, the tax inspection and the Ministry of Justice as politically motivated and aimed at destruction of the public organization that criticizes the policy of the authorities of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus. Amnesty International and the International Helsinki Federation have also expressed their concern about the situation with the RCFS. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 681 The preliminary hearing was held at the arbitrage court of Nizhny Novgorod region concerning the suit of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society against the decision of the tax inspection The RCFS asks in the suit to cancel the decision made by the tax inspection to bring the RCFS to tax accountability as unlawful. The executive manager of the RCFS Stanislav Dmitrievsky added to the case file officially approved translations of the documents, the conclusion of an independent audit and some other documents that are necessary to be taken into consideration. The tax inspection was represented by the chief specialist on law issues at the tax inspection of Nizhny Novgorod Nasyrov who stated that he need time to study the additional documents attached to the file. Having complied with the request, the judge Evgenia Belyanina postponed the hearing of the case and settled the next court hearing to October 25 this year. During today’s hearing a very sensitive occurrence took place. When the representative of the tax inspection was looking through his papers, he dropped them onto the floor and there was a copy of Maskhadov’s appeal to the European Parliament published in “Pravozaschita” newspaper. It is the publication that the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod bases its charges to Dmitrievsky of “inciting to animosity” under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Both Dmitrievsky and the RCFS accountant Natalia Chernelevskaya noticed it. They have no doubts that Nasyrov could receive this copy from the newspaper that has small circulation and was published a year and half ago from the prosecutor’s office only. When the court hearing ended, Nasyrov spent fifteen more minutes in the court room. The RCFS have grounds to assume that it was connected with the attempt to impose pressure upon the court. Pressure must have been imposed by showing this article to the judge and telling her about the background of the criminal case. (From our correspondent) http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php Nizniy Novgorod Report # 716 Officers of justice made the tax inspection to follow the court decision: the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society bank accounts have been opened October 5, 2005. Yesterday the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society obtained access to its bank accounts and started to carry out bank transactions. It became possible after the tax inspection of Nizhny Novgorod had followed the resolution of the Arbitrage Court of Nizhny Novgorod Region to suspend the orders to collects profit tax and fines from the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. The tax inspection sent the letter to Nizhny Novgorod branch of the “Vneshtorgbank” Bank that suspends their collection orders to forcefully withdraw the assets from the RCFS bank accounts and to freeze its accounts in foreign currency. To make the tax inspection follow the resolution, the RCFS had to turn to the Federal Service of Officers of Justice in Nizhny Novgorod region on 29 September 2005. The tax inspection had not followed the resolution of the arbitrage court for two weeks before that. As we reported before, on 12 September 2005 the judge of the Arbitrage Court of Nizhny Novgorod region Evgenia Belyanina decided to suspend the Resolution #25 of the Tax inspection to bring the RCFS to the tax accountability. Her decision will be valid until the appeal of the RCFS against the tax inspection is considered at the arbitrage court. On 15 August the tax inspection of Nizhny Novgorod made Resolution #25 to bring the RCFS to the tax accountability for violating the Tax Code. The deputy chief of the tax inspection M.Yu. Trifonov claims in this document that the RCFS has to pay the profit tax and fines from the assets received by the public organization in the period from 2002 to 2004 to implement their projects. The total amount of the tax claims is 1 001 561 rubles. On 24 August the RCFS appealed this resolution at the arbitrage court. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 714 A resident of the village Starye Atagi has disappeared On October 3, 2005, a female resident of the village of Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district Pikieva disappeared without any traces left. Her biographical particulars are now being established. The disappeared woman is was married and has children. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 713 “Kadyrovtsy” forcefully removed a resident of the village of Starye Atagi from his house On October 4, 2005 some residents of the village of Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district turned to the RCIA office in Grozny with the request to disseminate information about illegal measures performed by the service personnel of the anti-terror center (the former security service of the Chechen president). On September 30th, 2005 they forcefully removed two families of Apit Igirov's relatives from the house belonging to him. According to the people, the “kadyrovtsy” have settled their headquarters in the house and set their camp in Igirov's household situated in Tsvetochnaya Street. The relatives to Apti Idigov have the legal right to live in his house. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 712 A hijacked car was found as a result of an official federal search 02.10.2005. In Grozny during a search operation carried by the police office servicemen of Staropromyslovsky district detained a VAZ 2106 vehicle at 21st checkpoint that was driven by Viskhan Makaev (born 1955). According to a source at the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the car was in the federal search after it had been hijacked. The notice about the hijacked car came from the Ministry of the Interior of North Ossetia-Alania Republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 711 A guerilla has been killed in Ivanov settlement 02.10.2005. In Ivanov settlement situated within the precincts of Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny, service personnel of Staropromyslovsky killed a member of the Chechen armed resistance force, Supian Arsanukaev (born 1974) in a private house during a search operation. Arsanukaev was a resident of the village of Pobedinsky of Grozny rural district. The information was obtained from a source at the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 710 Resident of Alkan-Iurt is suspected of drug dealing At night of 1-2 October 2005, service personnel of Urus-Martan district police office detained resident of the village of Alkhan-Yurt Islam Akhmadov, on suspicion of drug dealing. As of the present moment, the detained man is being kept at the police office where investigatory measures are being carried out. A source in the Republic's law enforcement notified about this event. (From our correspondent) Urus-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 709 Head of administration of the village of Alkhan-Yurt has been appointed On 3 October 2005 Magomadov Yunus Abubakarovich was appointed as the head of administration of the village of Alkhan- Yurt of Urus- Martan district. (From our correspondent) Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 702 Discovery of the corpse of the abducted police officer of Starye Atagui village On 25 September 2005 the corpse of Sagaipov Mamed Magomedovich (aged 33) who was village police officer of Starye Atagi village of the Chechen Grozny rural district was discovered not far from the village of Novye Atagi of the Chechen Shali district after he had been abducted from his own house by a group of unidentified people in the beginning of 2004. Sagaipov had a wife and two underage children. According to the relatives of the murdered man, they learnt from the police servicemen that people involved into Chechen had reportedly abducted Mamed armed resistance movement and killed him on the second day after his abduction. They reportedly established these facts from a guerrilla who was detained by them. (From our correspondent) Sunzhenskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 701 Murder of a healer in Alkhasty village At night from 26 September to 27 September 2005, unidentifiable armed people in camouflage and masks murdered Maksherip Belkharoev (aged 67) in the village of Alkhasty of Ingushetia's Sunzha district. The murdered man was well-known in Ingushetia and neighboring republics as a soothsayer and a healer. All the local people considered him as a great authority. Maksherip received from fifty and up to one hundred people suffering from different diseases in his house every day. According to the head of the village administration Nakastkhoev, on September 27 at about 1 am a group of unidentifiable armed people moving around in two vehicles the makes of which remain unknown stopped at Belkharoev's house. Having introduced themselves as servicemen of law-enforcement agency, the perpetrators burst into Belkharoev's house. The owner of the house and his daughter were in the house at that time. The murderers fired several shots at the man and made for the exit from the house. At that very moment Maksherip Belkharoev's daughter came out of the other room. The perpetrators fired several shots at the girl and wounded her. After that they quickly disappeared from the scene of the crime. As of the present moment, Maksherip Belkharoev's daughter is at the resuscitation department of the central district hospital situated in Nasran town. (From our correspondent) Naurskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 699 Detention of a member of the Chechen armed resistance movement in Chernokozovo On September 24, 2005 the service personnel of Shali district police office detained a resident of Shali district center (born 1967) in the village of Chernokozovo of the Chechen Naur district on suspicion of being involved into activities of the Chechen armed resistance movement. The information was obtained from a source at the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic. A correspondent of the RCIA reports the source as stating that the combatant showed resistance and was wounded. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 698 OMON serviceman is murdered in Samashki On September 24, 2005 in the village of Samashki unidentified people opened fire from submachine-guns on a 10th make “Zhiguli” car belonging to the OMON serviceman Khuseyn Asmaev (aged 30). The man died on the spot from the received wounds. According to some eye-witnesses from among local people, the perpetrators were moving around in two vehicles. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 697 A policeman is blasted in Samashki On September 26, 2005 in the morning an UAZ police vehicle drove onto a land mine planted in the village of Samashki of the Chechen Achkhoy-Martan district and blasted(. A chief of the local police office captain Aslan Salgeriev drove the vehicle. According to some eye-witnesses, the landmine was planted in a sand heap that was near the entrance to the yard of Salgeriev's house. The policeman was badly wounded and immediately taken Grozny hospital #9. As of the present time, he is being treated there. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 696 Special operation in Grozny On September 26, 2005 in the morning the service personnel of the federal force agencies carried a special operation in Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny that was aimed at checking passports. According to the local people, the special operation was carried in the area between “Beryozka” and “Tashkala” bus stops. There has been no information about any detentions. (From our correspondent) Nozhay-Yurt district. Chechen Republic Report # 695 In Nozhay-Yurt districrt three members of the resistance movement has been killed 25.09.2005. During a special operation carried by the service personnel of the local police office three members of the Chechen armed resistant movement were annihilated. According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, the law-enforcement forces managed to identify two of them as Viskhan Zaitov, inhabitant of village Goragorsk of Nadterechny district. The second killed was identified as Sadi- Magomed Tsumiriev who was a native of Sernovodsk settlement of Sunsha district. At the incident place, three fake certificates of the Chechen MVD, two AKM submachine guns, a “Mukha” grenade cup discharger, 20 charges to a grenade cup discharger, an electric detonator, and a large amount of ammunition. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 694 One of two brothers has been released after being kidnapped by unknown people 18.09.2005. One of the two brothers Khasanov, living in the village 60th Anniversary of October of the Grozny village district was released. They were kidnapped at night of 16-17 September 2005 by unidentifiable force agents. According to the relished man himself, he was subjected to harsh beating and torture. At this point the whereabouts and destiny of the other brother remain uncertain. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 693 People kidnapped in the Grozny rural region At the night of 23-24 September 2005, the brothers Sadi (aged 30) and Sultan (aged 35) Arsamerzaev were kidnapped by unknown people in camouflaged uniforms. They live in Molosovkhoz (dairy farm) first section in the Grozny rural district. The same night Sultan Arsamerzaev was released after he had been beaten up. Where is he, is unknown. One thing that is certain about the kidnapped. he is a official of the domestic security department. (From our correspondent)