news.amnesty feature
Russian Federation: Agony without end for families of the
"disappeared"
Index: EUR 46/032/2005 Date: 30/08/2005
"Raissa" was seven months pregnant when her husband, a young man from
Ingushetia, "disappeared" in June 2004. He was reported to have been
detained by members of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the Russian
Federation republic and taken across the internal border to Chechnya.
"Raissa" looked for her husband in Chechnya and in Ingushetia.
Travelling from the main Russian military base in Khankala to the
procuracy in Ingushetia, she spoke to the border guards in Ingushetia
and to the police. She told Amnesty International that sometimes she was
ridiculed and, when she filed a complaint with the European Court of
Human Rights, she was threatened. She was told to withdraw her complaint
if she did not want her children to become orphans.
Another time, she was asked for a large amount of money in order to buy
her husband back. She has recently left the Russian Federation out of
fear for her own and her children's lives. Other members of her family
remain in the North Caucasus; she also fears for their lives and does
not want her name to be revealed.
The office of the Procurator General of the Russian Federation and other
official sources state that about 2,500 people have been abducted or
"disappeared" in Chechnya since the beginning of the second armed
conflict in the republic in 1999. The authorities have admitted that
members of the Russian federal forces and Chechen law enforcement
agencies have been involved in the "disappearance" of civilians.
Nearly every person living in Chechnya is likely to have been affected
by "disappearances". A relative, a friend, a neighbour may have been
taken away and his or her fate and well-being remains unknown to those
left behind.
"Disappearances" and abductions cause a particular agony for relatives
of the victims, unable to determine whether the victim is alive or dead,
unable to go through bereavement and unable to resolve legal and
practical matters such as pensions and inheritance. For them, the
"disappearance" continues without end.
Amnesty International interviewed Zara Gekaeva (54), a widow from Avtury,
whose 27-year-old son was detained by armed men in the centre of the
small Chechen town, Shali, on 7 July 2003. According to Zara Gekaeva,
who is disabled, her son, Timur Ibragimovich Soltakhanov, who was living
with her and taking care of her, was out buying food in the market. She
said that a group of policemen, and possibly members of the FSB, came to
the market in search of a wanted member of the armed opposition.
During an ensuing shoot out, Timur Soltakhanov was injured and detained.
According to witnesses, he was taken to the local procuracy where it was
found that he needed urgent medical treatment. However, it appears that
he was not taken from there to the hospital, but may instead have been
taken to the Russian military base in Khankala.
When his mother, together with members of a local human rights
organization, turned to the local procuracy, they were told that no one
by the name of Timur Soltakhanov was known there and that the police had
only detained the wanted member of the armed opposition on 7 July.
Zara Gekaeva's said that her life stopped on that day. For more than two
years now, she has spent all her time looking for her only child. She
has written to the authorities in Chechnya and to the federal government
in Moscow, she has travelled throughout the North Caucasus in order to
meet with human rights activists, journalists and members of the
International Committee of the Red Cross, hoping that someone would be
able to tell her why her son was detained and what has happened to him.
Often, families are faced with several "disappearances". Those who look
for their beloved "disappeared" relatives often risk becoming victims of
"disappearance" or other human rights violations themselves. Marzet
Imakaeva, like several other people Amnesty International has spoken to,
had to leave the Russian Federation in order to protect her remaining
family from further persecution. She had refused to withdraw a complaint
with the European Court of Human Rights following the "disappearance" of
her eldest son, Said-Khusein Imakaev, in December 2000 and the
subsequent "disappearance" of her husband, Said-Magomed Imakaev.
Rebaat Vakhaeva, an elderly woman whose only son Kazbek "disappeared" in
2000, was beaten up in early summer 2004 when she and other women
requested information from the authorities in the Chechen capital Grozny
about their relatives.
"There were many policemen and federal forces. They insulted us, beat
and punched us. I showed them a picture of my son: `Look I have a son,
just like you. I just want to know where he is. How can you do this?' I
cannot sleep and eat anymore. I walk around all the time and think of
him. I don't know anything about him. When I go to the local
administration, they ask for forgiveness: `If you don't forgive us, we
will not have peace.' I do not even know what I should forgive them for,
for killing my son or for taking him away?" ********
The Application of the Chechens, Living in Hamburg
We, the Chechen refugees living in Hamburg , have gone through difficult
days in the end of August. On the 24 th of August, 2005 , in all
newspapers of Germany there was information that three people, speaking
the Arabian language, prepared for an act of terrorism in Hamburg . But
in the photos in newspapers there were photos of young men from our
community, whom we knew only from the most positive side. Thus we
observed, how the German special troops had surrounded, practically, all
places, where Chechens lived.
Understanding, that the young men, shown in newspapers, were fair and
decent people, who could not do anything illegal, especially an act of
terrorism, we saw, how some unclear grandiose provocation was being
prepared against us.
Remembering the recent events in London , about acts of terrorism and
execution of an innocent citizen of Brazil there, we waited, what would
happen further, we were sure, that three innocent people had been
appointed to be victims. We have got such an experience of life in
Russia , when special services arrest Chechens without the slightest
grounds, and then force them to take up any crimes, which they have not
committed with beatings and tortures and open a false case against them.
Fortunately, the Hamburg police have not lowered down to such a level,
and after careful interrogation, having become convinced that the
denunciation of an "Egyptian" was false; the police released the
arrested people. We are even grateful to the police that they have not
assimilated to the Russian militia, which in this case would fabricate
false charges and imprison innocent people for long years.
But, nevertheless, we believe, that the roughest legal crime is
committed against all of us: special troops used to rush into our
houses, breaking out doors, offending and humiliating us. First, we have
been slandered for the whole world: a lot of newspapers, the
Internet-sites, TV and radio published materials unfairly discrediting
us. Secondly, three innocent people were detained, though two of them
voluntary came to a police station as soon as they had seen their
portraits in newspapers. Thirdly, we have lived these three days in a
condition of an extreme risk: these three, who were suspected, and each
of us could be shot, like the Brazilian in London , by policemen who,
practically, had surrounded and blocked each Chechen family.
We understand that the police should struggle against terrorism and
prevent it, and we support it.
But we also have become witnesses of that the police distributed
obviously not proved information in mass press, specifying particularly
at the people of the Chechen nationality; thus the police promoted
expansion of a large-scale political propaganda provocation in press
against us, Chechen refugees.
The Anti-Chechen propaganda action in press has passed successfully. Now
we have become derelicts of the society, none of us can easily go out in
the street, neighbors have stopped to communicate with us, our children
do not want to go to school, they are already offended and humiliated by
schoolmates.
Who is responsible for the injustice admitted in relation to us? So far
we do not see any material correcting this roughest mistake or a crime
in press; nobody has apologized to us. The three people, whose portraits
were published in all newspapers, cannot appear in streets at all,
because now people see criminals in them, their position is very risky
and dangerous, and it is unclear, what their status is: whether they are
still suspected or not, whether there is a criminal case against them or
not, whether there still is operatively-search information against them
in computers? There are many other questions.
Irrespective of, whether the events were a gross blunder of the police,
tensely expecting of the acts of terrorism from different directions, or
it was a well organized provocation of the Russian special services
working against Chechens both in the Russia, and in the territory of
Germany, or, maybe, they were some "doctrines of struggle against
terrorism", all of us, Chechens living in Hamburg, have turned out to be
a victim of injustice and lawlessness.
After this three-day action we expect tragic consequences for ourselves.
We are afraid, that the continuation of this action will be prosecutions
of Chechens in democratic Germany , just the same as it is done in
totalitarian Russia . We have lived here for more than 4 years and many
of us have not received the legal status of refugees till now, and for
this reason we live, like in a ghetto: we cannot move freely for the
distance of more than 30 kilometers, we cannot study and work. The
consequence of the last anti-Chechen propaganda campaign will be
dragging out of the decisions concerning the status of refugees,
refusals in the status of refugees to us and deportation also will be
inevitable. We try to prevent it with this letter. We suspect that the
informer, the so-called "Egyptian" was a provoker, that all this was
purposefully organized against all Chechens by interested forces.
Therefore we demand the legal estimation of the events, to punish the
people, guilty of the premature distribution of unproved information
discrediting, to restore our reputation, to publish the information in
press denying the guilt of Chechens, to define the status of three
innocent and slandered people according to the German law (whether they
are guilty or not, whether they are still suspected or not) and to tell
them definitely, whether they can feel easy and be sure and not be
afraid, that tomorrow the same illegal actions will be repeated against
them.
We think that police bodies and heads of the structures, which have
carried out this rough inept operation, should be interested in
correction of the mistakes if, certainly, Germany is really democratic
country, where the law and order operate.
Refugees from the Chechen Republic Ichkeria, inhabitants of Hamburg :
/Signatures: (tens of surnames) /
/*Chechenpress *, the Department of letters, 02.09.05/
gazeta.kz
02.09.2005
Kazakhstan extradites suspected Chechen rebel to Russia
Kazakhstan has extradited Rustam Chaghilov, citizen of Russian
Federation, suspected of a number of crimes committed on the territory
of Chechnya, including participation in an armed band and possession of
arms, KNB (National Security Committee) has informed KZ-today.
According to the KNB, the criminal case against R. Chaghilov, 27, was
filed in June 2005 by the FSB (Federal Security Service) of Russia and
then declared wanted. The judicial bodies of Russian Federation have
authorised his imprisonment.
Chaghilov was arrested in Taraz on a request from the FSB by the
national security authorities of Kazakhstan and by order of prosecuting
authorities he was extradited.
The KNB press release marks that he was extradited to law enforcement
authorities of Russia in the international airport of Astana on
September 1 on a sanction from the general prosecutor's office of RK as
per Minsk Convention as of 1993 "On legal assistance and legal
relationship on civil, family, and criminal cases."
07:59 GMT, Sep 07, 2005 Latest Headlines...
Kidnapped Chechen resident found dead in Grozny
MOSCOW. Sept 7 (Interfax) - The body of Chechen resident Khasan
Dzhautkhanov, who was kidnapped 24 hours ago in Mozdok, has been
discovered in Grozny, the city's Leninsky district police department
told Interfax on Wednesday. "Dzhautkhanov's body marked by with knife
wounds was discovered on Tuesday evening on the bank of the Neftyanka
River," police said. Dzhautkhanov and ex-policeman Musa Lechiyev were
kidnapped by unidentified abductors in Mozdok in North Ossetia on
September 6. Lechiyev was wounded and both hostages were taken in the
direction of Grozny. In Grozny, Lechiyev was thrown down from a bridge
into the Sunzha River. He was later found by policemen and taken to a
hospital, police said.
eng.kavkaz.memo.ru
Caucasian Knot 30/8/2005
Human rights defenders compare figures
One hundred and fifty-two residents of Chechnya were abducted in the
first six months of 2005, according to the Human Rights Centre Memorial
which monitors the situation in the republic. Of them, 58 were ransomed
or freed in another way, six were found dead, 86 have disappeared, and
two are under investigation. "The figures are much lower as compared
with last year," Memorial's Dmitry Grushkin comments on the statistics
to Caucasian Knot. "However, it is not to be forgotten that our
monitoring comprises just 25-30% of the territory of Chechnya, mostly
its plain districts. We only receive information from mountainous
districts occasionally. Therefore, we believe that actual figures are
3-4 times higher."
Earlier today, Arkadii Yedelev, Deputy Internal Affairs Minister of
Russia and Commander of the Regional Operations Headquarters (ROH) for
the Counter-Terrorist Operations in the North Caucasus Region, announced
a considerable reduction of the number of abductions in Chechnya.
"The number of abducted persons was more than 2.5 times lower in 2004 as
compared with 2003. The number of abductions also reduced by more than
50% during six months of 2005 as compared with the same period a year
earlier," Mr Yedelev told Interfax. According to the ROH commander's
information, 513 such crimes were registered in 2003, 164 in 2004, and
79 in the first half of 2005. "By the way, such crimes are currently
quicker and more often detected," emphasised Mr Yedelev.
Meanwhile, Mr Grushkin is sure that officials are "simply shuffling
figures, manipulating them as they see convenient and useful."
"We do observe a certain reduction of the number of abducted people, but
it is not as significant as ROH representatives announce it to be," says
the human rights defender. "The fact should also be taken into account
here that many relatives of those abducted are so disillusioned about
legal institutions and even human rights organisations that they do not
go to the prosecutor's office or police, but try to free their relatives
on their own. Accordingly, these instances are not registered in any
reports. This growing trend is confirmed by increase in the number of
abducted people who are ransomed or freed in another way as compared
with previous years. People distrust law enforcement and security
agencies. They rely only on themselves. Even when they are released,
people make no haste to lodge complaints or inform anyone about the
committed crime. The principle is 'ransomed, alive, thank God.'"
As an example, Mr Grushkin reminded of the abduction of Aslan
Maskhadov's relatives <http://eng.kavkaz.memo.ru/newstext/engnews/id/811920.html>
in December 2004. "The relatives of the abducted people applied to the
Prosecutor General's Office and human rights organisations only 1.5
months after the abduction," says the human rights defender.
"Of course, the situation with abductions in the Chechen Republic seems
to have improved, especially when official figures are examined. But at
the same time, the state of affairs in Chechnya is not as adequate as
those officials who talk about lower numbers of abductions picture it,"
concludes Dmitry Grushkin.
"Repressions against relatives of rebels, including their
hostage-taking, on the part of law enforcement and security agencies and
the military became much more widespread and systemic by 2004 after
so-called 'Chechenisation' of the conflict than they had been in the
first four years of the war. While repressive actions against the
families of combatants were either revenge or a method to obtain
information previously, such methods have now become tactics of exerting
pressure on rebels to make them surrender."
The human rights advocate thinks abductions and "counter hostage-taking"
is mostly carried out by officers of Chechen law enforcement and
security agencies. "Such actions are encouraged at the highest level,"
says Mr Grushkin. "Shortly before his depth, at the funeral banquet for
the Yamadayev family in Gudermes on 1 May 2004, President Akhmat Kadyrov
claimed he would punish all relatives of armed resistance members.
Literally in a month, on 9 June, Ramzan Kadyrov told NTV television
channel in an interview, 'We would punish their relatives by the law.'"
In the opinion of the Memorial representative, however, "such actions
only yield a negative result."
"For Chechen men the inability to protect their women and old relatives
who are captured most often is a grave blow on self-esteem," Mr Grushkin
believes. "This method is not only vicious in itself, but it is also
ineffective because it intensifies the motivation of opponents to the
federal government."
"As one former hostage said, 'they also have relatives.' And indeed, we
register that such methods of "counter-terrorism" lead to further
embitterment of resistance and worsen the situation which is disastrous
even without that. For example, in the spring of 2004 we registered
punitive actions on the part of rebels against Kadyrov's relatives. That
is, 'counter hostage-taking' is by no means the appropriate method to
solve the problem of bringing constitutional order to the Chechen
Republic," said Mr Grushkin.
*Author:* Alexander Grigoriev, CK correspondent
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/cau/cau_200509_302_2_eng.txt
Chechnya: Foreign Aid Groups Face Hostility from Moscow
Foreign aid groups involved in Chechnya find their hands are tied by
Russian bureaucracy and suspicion.
By Valery Dzutsev in Moscow (CRS No. 302, 01-Sep-05)
In July, the Czech aid group People in Need was forced to leave Russia
after more than five years working in Chechnya. The Russian media
accused the group of having links with Chechen rebels, a charge it
denies.
The departure of People in Need is only the latest _expression of
Moscow's attitude of mistrust, and sometimes outright hostility, towards
foreign non-government organisations, NGOs, working in the North
Caucasus.
"NGOs on the ground in Chechnya and Ingushetia are often harassed, and
there is a certain distrust between NGOs and the security services,"
said Stephen Tull, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA, in Russia.
Aid groups have repeatedly been accused by the Russian government of
misconduct, intelligence gathering, and even collusion with the Chechen
rebels.
In May, Nikolai Patrushev, the head of the Federal Security Service, FSB,
accused several foreign aid groups of working against Russia. Patrushev
told the state Duma that the United States government-funded Peace
Corps, the British charity Merlin, Kuwait's Social Reforms Society and
the Saudi Red Crescent Society were out to harm the interests of the
Russian state. He called for more scrutiny over the activities of aid
organisations.
All four of the groups named by Patrushev had stopped working in Russia
even before he made his allegations. They have all denied any
misconduct. The US State Department called the charges against the Peace
Corps "cynical".
Neil MacFarlane, professor of international relations at Oxford
University, told IWPR, "It appears that some Russian security
policy-makers suspect that humanitarian organisations are infiltrated by
foreign intelligence agencies."
MacFarlane said Moscow's disdain for foreign aid groups was partly a
legacy of Soviet-era attitudes. But he also suggested that the presence
of humanitarian organisations on the ground made it harder for the
Russian military to pursue indiscriminate strong-arm tactics.
Tull said relations between UN agencies and various Russian government
offices are generally good, but vary from place to place, and there are
cases of harassment
"People sometimes come to NGOs without even producing proper
identification documents and start asking questions and checking papers
and computers," he said. "In some cases, humanitarian agencies feel they
are not welcome, and it makes it harder for us to work in the region."
The Danish Refugee Council, DRC, the UN's largest implementing partner
in the North Caucasus, is a prime example of the problems facing foreign
organisations. After years of working in the region, DRC secured a
renewal of its permit to work in Russia only after two months' close
scrutiny by the authorities, a UN source told IWPR.
Nonetheless, Per Albert Ilsaas, the head of DRC's office in the North
Caucasus, said that the organisation was generally able to carry out its
work.
"There is always room for improvement in getting through to the
beneficiaries, but by and large, we succeed reasonably well in reaching
the majority of the most vulnerable members of the population," said
Ilsaas.
"We have been able to operate in all districts of Chechnya and I cannot
really say we have had major obstacles in that. This is not to say that
the monitoring we do now is entirely the same as it would have been had
we had completely free access. There is an element of [monitoring by]
remote control, but the access is satisfactory."
Responding to Russian claims that some of the humanitarian aid ends up
in the hands of Chechen rebels, Ilsaas said, "We cannot stand over all
200,000 IDPs [internally displaced persons] and see what they do with
the humanitarian aid. There is never a 100 per cent guarantee about
anything in life."
In March, the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty published a story
entitled "UN rifles fire at our soldiers", accusing the UN and other
humanitarian agencies of providing support for the rebels, evading taxes
and trafficking drugs.
After filing repeated complaints about the article, UN officials were
told by the Russian foreign ministry that it had no evidence of
misconduct by the UN.
Other aid agencies say the poor security situation in the North Caucasus
has badly hampered their efforts. Some believe the Russian government is
not interested in improving security for them, because that would bring
an unwelcome influx of aid workers.
The international medical aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF,
stopped sending foreign nationals to the region after four of its staff
were kidnapped between 1996 and 2002. The last of these, Dutch citizen
Arjan Erkel, was seized in August 2002 and released only 20 months
later. The Netherlands government later admitted to paying one million
euros for his release.
MSF now employs only locally-hired staff for its operations in the North
Caucasus.
As Andrew Cunningham, head of mission for MSF-Holland, told IWPR, "It is
not at all a normal situation for us. Internationally, we never run
programmes like this, completely by remote control. It's a major
compromise that the organisation has to make.
"We all think that it is so important for us to be in Chechnya, to
provide assistance in Chechnya. We are going to have [to make] very
fundamental compromises."
Philippe Royan, of the European Commission's humanitarian aid office
ECHO in Moscow, said security remained a concern. "Honestly, I must say
the security situation has not improved recently. We can't tell our
partners the situation is much better that they should go more often
to Chechnya, do more monitoring," he said.
Royan said a further complication is that many IDPs have moved back to
Chechnya from refugee camps in Ingushetia and Dagestan, a factor which
made it even harder for aid agencies to help them.
"Humanitarian agencies follow the beneficiaries. More and more aid is
being shipped to Chechnya. And it has become more difficult to reach the
beneficiaries," he said. "When there were tent camps in Ingushetia, it
was quite easy to access them in a few hours and to check what was done
with the food aid, the sanitation aid. When they returned to Grozny and
you don't have good access, it becomes more and more difficult to
monitor the aid."
Royan said obtaining permits from the Russian authorities to visit
Chechnya had also become more difficult, "You never know if you will be
given an access permit or not. It's a lottery sometimes - some days
permitted, some days refused without explanation from the office."
In addition, he said, the Russians sometimes close the Chechen
administrative border to foreign nationals for days, citing expectations
of heightened tension or an outbreak of fighting.
The UN says 62 million US dollars' worth of aid was distributed in
Chechnya through its offices in 2004. The total amount of aid sent to
Chechnya is greater, since some donors fund NGOs directly rather than
through the UN.
Professor MacFarlane believes the Russian military and its pro-Moscow
Chechen allies should do more to provide security for aid groups, "It
would be good if Russian and associated forces could provide adequate
security, but they are probably not capable of it even if they wanted
to."
MacFarlane said that Russian officials could at least ease bureaucratic
hurdles that prevent aid groups from travelling freely or securing visas
for their foreign staff.
He believes that the tension between Moscow and the aid agencies may
begin to resolve itself, as - unless there is an upsurge in the Chechen
conflict - the level of international humanitarian engagement will
necessarily diminish.
In any case, the economic benefits brought by the foreign NGOs' presence
may well outweigh any animosity that Moscow harbours towards them.
According to MacFarlane, "Humanitarian organisations reduce the burden
on the Russian state budget. More importantly, perhaps, I think Russian
policy-makers rightly take the view that the political costs of driving
humanitarian organisations out exceed the political costs of having them
there."
This was also the view of an official with an international aid agency,
who did not want to be identified. This official told IWPR, "We often
discuss how it is that Russia tolerates international humanitarian
organisations. We arrived at the conclusion that it's because it would
be no good for Russia to kick us out.
"As long as humanitarian organisations mind their own business [and] do
not make too much noise, they are tolerated."
Valery Dzutsev is IWPR's coordinator in the North Caucasus.
ALTERNATIVE HEARINGS ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN RUSSIA
TO BE HELD IN BRUSSELS ON SEPTEMBER 8 PARALLEL TO OFFICIAL EU-RUSSIA
CONSULTATIONS
Press Statement by Initiative Group of Russian Human Rights Defenders
Moscow, September 5, 2005. On September 8, in Brussels, a second round
of the âhuman rights consultationsâ between Russia and the European
Union will be held. Russian human rights organizations welcome these
consultations as such and are firmly convinced that they may develop
into an important instrument of protecting human rights, strengthening
stability, and promoting democratic values in Europe. For this reason,
both Russia and the EU should be interested in an open and productive
dialogue on the most urgent human rights issues; they should seek closer
cooperation for the sake of step-by-step solution of the existing
problems. Russian human rights defenders regard the newly organized
consultations as especially important in view of the fact that in recent
years the UN Human Rights Commission, the traditional mechanism of
mutual control in the human rights sphere, has weakened.
At the same time, there is a danger that the discussions between the EU
and Russia on human rights risk to be effectively removed from the
public sphere and develop into âconsultations for the sake of
consultations,â that is, into just an imitation of a meaningful
dialogue.
In order to remedy the situation, Russian and international NGOs working
in the area of human rights and fundamental freedoms should be given a
certain role to play in the dialogue between Russia and the EU on these
issues. In particular, they should be informed of the agenda, acquire
the possibility to suggest some agenda items and to supply the sides
with agenda-related materials.
Political consultations should be doubled by expert consultations on the
items of the agenda, in order to feed into the process, drawing upon the
experiences of EU-China and EU-Iran comprehensive human rights
dialogues.
Representatives of Russian and international NGOs should be given the
right to be accredited at such meetings; this right should be extended
at each particular meeting to those NGOs that supplied relevant
materials and were recommended by at least one of the sides. It is also
essential that Government delegations invite experts from key human
rights NGOs to contribute to the actual discussion.
In July this year, a large group of leading Russian human rights
organizations addressed the Governments of European Union States and the
Russia Government with a detailed letter comprising these and other
suggestions as well as outlining some priority topics for the inclusion
in the agenda of the next two rounds of human rights consultations. They
are as follows:
1. Observation of Human Rights by the Law Enforcement Agencies and
Reform of the Law Enforcement System 2. Counterterrorism Struggle and
Human Rights. Protection of Human Rights as an Important Element of
Ensuring Security 3. Observation of Electoral Rights 4. Freedom of the
Media 5. Persecution for Political Convictions and Problems of the
Independence of the Judicial System 6. The Rights of the Military
Servicemen and Alternative Servicemen 7. Migration and Human Rights,
Ethnic Discrimination and Racially-Motivated Violence
Following on that letter, upon request of several European Governments,
Russian human rights provided briefing papers on some of these topics.
Also, in August, the UK Embassy in Moscow organized a special briefing
for Russian human rights defenders with a group of British officials, as
the United Kingdom, being the new President of the EU, is in the lead of
organizing the September consultations in Brussels. At that meeting,
Russian human rights defenders made their presentations on the
aforementioned topics and discussed with the UK officials the prospects
for the up-coming consultations. While the data and the advice of
Russian NGOs were heartily welcomed by the British Government, the human
rights defenders were told that their direct participation in the
governmental consultations was not possible, as that would go against
the regular procedure for official bilateral consultations.
Russian and international human rights organizations are convinced that
both Russia and the EU will profit from an open public discussion of the
human rights issues and from join quest for solutions. The EU and Russia
are neighbors with common borders, and therefore any problems in the
human rights sphere in Russia will immediately affect domestic
developments in the EU member States. Therefore, tangible progress in
the Russia-EU human rights consultations should serve as a condition for
the progress in Russia-EU negotiations on âfour common spacesâ
(including economics, security, visa regime, culture and science) and
develop, in this way, the principles of the 1975 Helsinki Final Accord
that speaks about indivisibility between security and human rights and
says that human rights is not an âinternal matterâ of any state.
Unable to contribute to the official proceedings, Russian human rights
defenders deemed it necessary to come to Brussels on the day of the
official consultations and organize in cooperation with the
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) special hearings on
human rights in Russia open to the media, interested governmental
officials and the wide public. At these hearings, leading human rights
experts from Moscow and the Northern Caucasus will give talks and launch
a debate on the priority human rights issues, with a special focus on
the situation in and around the so-called zone of counter-terrorist
operation. ***
Date and time of the hearings: September 8, 10.00 â 18.00 Venue: Hotel
Tulip Inn, Avenue du Boulevard 17, Brussels Hearings are open to the
public. No accreditation is required.
List of Russian experts: Ludmilla Alexeeva (Moscow Helsinki Group,
Moscow) Shakhman Akhbulatov (Human Rights Center âMemorialâ,
Ingushetia) Vissarion Aseev (human rights defender, Beslan, North Osetia)
Ruslan Badalov (Chechen Committee for National Salvation, Ingushetia)
Alexander Cherkasov (Human Rights Center âMemorialâ, Moscow) Yuri
Dzhibladze (Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights,
Moscow) Svetlana Gannushkina (âCivic Assistanceâ Committee, Moscow)
Sergei Kovalev (International Society âMemorialâ, Moscow) Ida
Kuklina (Union of Soldier Mothersâ Committee, Moscow) Tanya Lokshina (Center
âDemosâ/International Helsinki Federation, Moscow) Lev Ponomaryov
(Movement for Human Rights, Moscow) Ekaterina Sokirianskaya (Human
Rights Center âMemorialâ, Ingushetia) Boris Timoshenko (Glasnost
Defense Foundation, Moscow)
Additional information: In Paris: Sasha Koulaeva, FIDH, tel. (33â1)
43â55â19â38, akoulaeva@fidh.org; In Moscow: Tanya Lokshina, Center
âDemosâ, +7 916 624-1906, lokshina@ihf-hr.org
__________________________________________
Joachim Frank, Project Coordinator International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights Wickenburggasse 14/7 A-1080 Vienna Tel. +43-1-408 88 22
ext. 22 Fax: +43-1-408 88 22 ext. 50 Web: http://www.ihf-hr.org
______________________________________
Russian Federation: Nizhny Novgorod Authorities Launch Final
Crackdown on Russian-Chechen Friendship Society.
Todayâs Protest Picket Dissolved after Five Minutes â Participants
Detained
Vienna, 2 September 2005. Since the beginning of 2005, the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), a human rights NGO, has been
the target of a concerted campaign of harassment by authorities in the
region of Nizhny Novgorod. In the last few weeks authorities have taken
steps toward completely halting the activities of this group.
The key weapon used by the authorities in their battle against the RCSF
is a demand to pay around 28.200 Euro in allegedly outstanding taxes and
fines. The regional branch of the Federal Tax Inspectorate has decided
that all grants received by the human rights NGO in the past three years
are to be treated as profit, and in accordance with this decision the
Nizhegorodsky Tax Authority forcefully withdraw funds from the
operational Rubel bank accounts of the RCFS on 26 August, and is in the
process of doing the same from the Euro and USD accounts of the RCFS.
At the same time, a criminal case against Stas Dimitrievsky, RCFS
Executive Director and Chief Editor of the RCSF Information Center,
continues. Dimitrievsky has been charged with âinciting hatred or
enmity on the basis of ethnicity and religionâ (part 2b of Article 282
of the Criminal Code), offences which carry a maximum penalty of two
years in prison, for allowing the publication of peace appeals by Akhmed
Zakaev and Aslan Maskhadov in the Pravozaschita (Human Rights Defence)
newspaper, co-published by the RCSF and Nizhny Novgorod Society for
Human Rights (NNSHR).
Additionally, Dimitrievsky and the Oksana Chelysheva, co-editor at the
RCFS Information Center, have been subjected to personal threats.
Attention: A picket held in front of the local Tax Inspectorate today
was dissolved after 5 minutes, and its participants were detained.
On 2 September 2005, at 3 pm local time, the RCSF organized a picket in
front of the building of the Tax Inspectorate of the Nizhegorodsky
district of the city of Nizhny Novgorod. According to a statement by the
RCFS, the aim of the picket was both to express disagreement with the âabsolutely
unlawful decisionâ to require that a public organization pay income
tax on project funds and to âdemonstrate contemptâ for the tax
officials who implemented this âdirty political orderâ.
This picket only lasted 5 minutes. Then, the twelve picketers were
rounded up by twenty five OMON police officers, accompanied by five
policemen and up to ten members of the Prosecutors Office, and taken to
the Nizhny Novgorod ROVD (police department), where they remain detained
as of this writing.
Background
The RCSF, which was founded in 2000, is based in the city of Nizhny
Novgorod, and has branch offices in Nazran and Grozny. The NGO
distributes independent information about the human rights situation in
Chechnya, Ingushetia and other North Caucasian republics, defends the
interests of victims of war crimes and assists children and disabled
people victimized by the conflict in Chechnya. The RCSF has repeatedly
criticised the authorities of the Russian Federation for severe human
rights and humanitarian law violations in Chechnya and surrounding
areas.
The ongoing campaign of harassment against the RCFS began in January
2005, when the Prosecutorâs Office of the Niznny Novgorod region
initiated a criminal investigation into the publishing activities of the
Pravozaschita newspaper. As noted above, RCSF Executive Director Stas
Dimitrievsky was subsequently criminally charged. Then, in March 2005,
the Federal Tax Inspectorate commenced an irregular audit of the RCSFâs
accounts for the past three years and confiscated accounting and
registration documents of the organisation. In April 2005, the Federal
Registration Service (FRS) under the Ministry of Justice undertook an
audit as well and initiated a court case against the RCFS because of its
failure to provide the FRS with required documents (documents, which had
been confiscated by the Tax Inspectorate just some weeks before). In
June 2005, the Ministry of Justice issued a written notification to the
NNSHR, ordering it to halt its activities, because they allegedly had
not
transmitted to them the documentation they had requested in the
framework of an audit into the organisationâs activities.
Following talks, the FRS agreed to discontinue court proceedings against
the RCFS in June 2005 and the NNSHR was eventually authorised to take up
its activities again as of August 2005. However, the judicial and fiscal
harassment of the RCFS continues, as well as a media campaign against
the organization.
1. Judicial case against the Pravozaschita (Human Rights Defence)
newspaper, a joint publication by RCFS and the Nizhny Novgorod Society
for Human Rights (NNSHR):
On 11 January 2005, the prosecutorâs office of Nizhny Novgorod Region
initiated a criminal case against the Pravozaschita newspaper for
publishing statements of Akhmed Zakaev and Aslan Maskhadov, calling for
a peaceful end to the RussianâChechen conflict. On 20 January 2005, a
group of officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) burst into the
RCFS office, seized documents and computers, and then âinvitedâ
Dimitrievsky to come to the local FSB office for questioning him âas a
witnessâ. He abided. Then, several board and staff members of the RCFS
and the NNHRS, both in Nizhny Novgorod and Chechnya have been summoned
and interrogated in relation to the investigation. This was particularly
intimidating to the correspondents in Chechnya, and some of them
subsequently decided to quit their jobs at the Information Centre.
Originally the criminal case was referring to article 280 of the
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, âPublic calls to carry out
extremist activityâ, which is under the jurisdiction of the Federal
Security Service (FSB). After having commissioned an expert report,
which came to the conclusion that there was no evidence of the crime
specified in Article 280, they passed the case to the Prosecutor´s
Office. The case was amended so as to refer to Article 282 now (âInciting
hatred or enmity, as well as diminishing human dignityâ). This is
liable to up to two years imprisonment. It is now the responsibility of
Oleg Kiryukov, a Senior Investigator responsible foe especially serious
crimes.
On 20 June 2005, the Prosecutors Office of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
held a press conference at which Konstantin Moiseyev, an Assistant
Prosecutor, confirmed that a further expert report had found no evidence
of the commission of a crime under Article 282.
Nevertheless, on 11 August 2005, Stas Dimitrievsky was for the first
time interrogated as a suspect in this criminal case, at the prosecutorâs
office of Nizhny Novgorod Region by the senior investigator Oleg
Kiryukov. Mr. Dmitrievskyâs lawyer, Mr. Yury Sidorov, was present at
the interrogation.
He was summoned to come to the prosecutorâs office again on 2
September 2005, 11 am. In this meeting he was officially charged.
2. The fiscal harassment of the RCFS, threatening the continuation of
its activities
In March 2005, the Federal Tax Inspectorate commenced an audit of the
accounts of the RCFS for the past three years. It was halted on 20
April, started again 14 June and was completed on 16 June 2005. While
the tax office insists that an audit of this kind is carried out every
two years, and is absolutely of a normal planed nature, the RCFS
credibly fears that they have been singled out for a special audit as
part of an orchestrated campaign against them.
On 3 June 2005 the accountant of the RCFS, Natalia Chernelevskaya, was
called to an interview and allegedly threatened.
In the preparation of their record, the Tax Inspectorate referred to
Article 100 of the Tax Code, providing that if a grant is received by an
organization is considered not to be for a particular purpose, then it
is to be taxed as profit. On 16 June 2005, the RCFS received an order
from the Tax Inspectorate, according to which they have to pay
1â000â561 roubles (corresponding to 28,200 Euro or 35,000 USD) for
non-payment of income tax and fines. It appears from the Record of the
tax inspectorate that they decided that all grants received from RCFS
for the past three years have been treated as profit. This refers to
grants received from the European Commission, the National Endowment for
Democracy Foundation (whose budget mainly comes from the United States
Department of State) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in 2002, 2003
and 2004.
While the Tax Inspectorate argues that these institutions are not
included in the Russian government´s list of donors whose subsidies are
not taxable, the RCFS appealed against this decision on 28 June 2005,
arguing that in their opinion the claims were unlawful and groundless,
as the European Commission appears on that list, and as according to the
bilateral agreement between the Russian Federation and the USA financial
support allocated to non-profit organisations by US government agencies
is not subject to taxation. On 11 July 2005, a meeting took place in the
office of the Tax Inspectorate devoted to the examination of the RCFS
complaint. The Tax Inspectorate maintained its decision to allege tax
irregularities and to bring out further claims.
On 15 August 2005, the RCFS received another order, confirming the order
to pay the same amount of taxes and fines. In this order, the deputy
chief of the Tax Inspectorate, Mr. Trifonov, admitted that the European
Commission is included in the list of donors from which grants are not
taxable, but claimed that the RCFS had used this subsidy for âpublishing
and diffusing publicationsâ, an activity that is not included in
article 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. According to this
article, tax free grants must be dedicated to âeducation, arts,
culture and environmental defence fieldsâ. The order further states
that the bilateral agreement between the Russian Federation and the USA,
signed in April 1992, does not concern grants awarded by the National
Endowment for Democracy.
On 24 August 2005, the RCFS duly appealed to the Arbitration Court of
the Nizhny Novgorod oblast against the decision of the tax inspectorate,
and simultaneously asked to stop any further court procedures until the
appeal was heard. The RCFS regarded as illegal and unreasonable the
order of the tax inspectorate to treat the operational grants to them as
if they were profits, for activities that are within the limits of
authorized activity for public organisations. The Arbitration Court
rejected the second part of the appeal, and on 26 August 2005, the
regional tax authority forcefully withdrew funds from the operational
Rubel bank accounts of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, and also
began withdrawing the money from their Euro and USD accounts.
Due to this action, the RCFS loses the ability to continue its programs
under these grants. Both the office in Nizhny Novgorod, the program for
invalids from Chechnya, and the network of human rights monitors in
Chechnya and Ingushetia are endangered to be destroyed. This also
concerns 13 workplaces created by the RCFS in Chechnya, where there is
an extremely high unemployment rate.
The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, signed in June
2005 a new federal law (âModification of the second part of the tax
code of the Russian Federation and some other acts of the Russian
Federation for taxes and tax collectionâ), which clearly and
unambiguously states that means received for the protection of the
rights and freedoms of persons in the Russian Federation, are exempted
from the profit tax. However, these changes come into effect only from
the beginning of 2006 and cannot be used retroactive. Therefore,
contractions in the current law make it possible for the tax authorities
to destroy any NGOs they like by selectively applying parts of the
existing law while ignoring others.
Therefore, this action creates a dangerous precedent.
3. Media Campaign against the RCFS
From February to April 2005, RCFS members and Mr. Stanislav Dmitrievsky
in particular, were subjected to a smear campaign that was launched in
mass media venues of Nizhny Novgorod.
Local media have tried to associate the work of the group to Chechen
terrorism. On 29 January 2005, the internet news agency of Nizhny
Novgorod, APN, published an article on its web-site with the title âFreedom
fighters or helpers of terrorists?â (http://www.apn-nn.ru/pub_s/126.html),
in which legal experts accused the RCFS of open complicity with Chechen
insurgents and warned that their activities in Nizhny Novgorod are
dangerous for its inhabitants. On 12 March 2005, several local Nizhny
Novgorod television channels, including RTR, aired a five-minute report,
which claimed that the activities of the RCFS and its newspaper âPravozashchitaâ
(âHuman Rights Defenseâ) are connected with Chechen rebels.
On 14 March 2005, the co-editor of Pravozaschita, Oksana Chelysheva,
faced numerous threatening leaflets in her own neighborhood. The flyers
contained slander, insult, and direct threats to Oksana Chelysheva in
connection with her work at RCFS.
Conclusion
In past months, authorities have interfered with the activities of the
RCFS and the NNHRS in a way that gives rise to concern. The series of
investigative and other measures targeting the two organizations, which
have been described in this statement, have apparently been aimed at
obstructing their activities. As a result of official action taken in
the most recent period, the important human rights work of the RSCF is
now seriously threatened, while the physical and physiological integrity
of the members of the organization is endangered because of continued
harassment in media and elsewhere.
The International Helsinki Federation (IHF) urges the authorities of the
Russian Federation to: ¡ Put an end to all harassment against the RCSF
and take effective measures to ensure the safety and integrity of
Stanislav Dmtrievsky, Oksana Chelysheva and other members of the RCSF; ¡
Protect the rights of all human rights defenders in the country in
accordance with international standards, including the Declaration on
Humans Rights Defenders (adopted by the General Assembly of the United
Nations on December 9, 1998), article 1 of which states that âeveryone
has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote
the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms
at the national and international levelsâ;
See also : IHF statement, âContinuing Persecution of the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society. Its Partner Organisation Nizhny
Novgorod Human Rights Society Closed Down by Authoritiesâ, 10 June
2005 IHF statement, ââWe Fear for the Safety of our Colleagues in
the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society⌠Russian Human Rights
Organization Threatenedâ, 19 March 2005 IHF statement, âFSB Raids
the Russian-Chechen Friendship Societyâ, 20 January 2005 IHF/NHC
Report, The Silencing of Human Rights Defenders in Chechnya and
Ingushetia, Sept. 2004
For further information: International Helsinki Federation for Human
Rights In Vienna: Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, +43-1-408 88 22
or +43 -676-635 66 12; Henriette Schroeder, IHF Press Officer,
+43-676-725 48 29 In Moscow: Tanya Lokshina, +7 -916-624 19 06
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Stas Dimitrievsky, Oksana Chelysheva,
+7-8312-171 666 or +7-920 0115 3306 (mobile)
__________________________________________
Joachim Frank, Project Coordinator International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights Wickenburggasse 14/7 A-1080 Vienna Tel. +43-1-408 88 22
ext. 22 Fax: +43-1-408 88 22 ext. 50 Web: http://www.ihf-hr.org
______________________________________
Nizniy Novgorod Report # 619
The editor-in-chief of the Pravosachita newspaper is charged
URGENT MESSAGE On 2 September 2005 at 10.50 am at the prosecutors
office of Nizhny Novgorod Region the managing director of the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and the editor-in-chief of the
Pravozaschita newspaper Stanislav Dmitrievsky was criminally accused
of committing the crime part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of
the Russian Federation (inciting to hostility) refers to. The charges
against Dmitrievsky were preferred by a senior investigator Oleg Kirukov.
After Dmitrievsky and his lawyer Yury Sidorov learned the facts stated
in the Decision on instituting criminal proceedings, the investigator
showed them the conclusions of the linguistic expertise carried out by a
staffer of Privolzhsky regional center of legal expertise at the
Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Larisa Telesenko.
Dmitrievsky stated that he didnt agree to the conclusions of the bill
of indictment and didnt consider himself guilty. There are no signs of
inciting to ethnic, racial or any other kind of hatred in these
publications. All the pathos of the articled that are incriminated
against me is aimed against the policy of the leadership of the Russian
Federation in Chechnya and not against any national, religious or social
group, investigator Kirukov reported what Dmitrievsky told him.
Dmirievsky also claimed that he didnt agree to the conclusions of the
expertise and handed in the application to carry the second expertise by
specialists of the Independent Expert and Legal Bureau (Moscow). The
application is to be considered within the three-day term.
Dmitrievsky also asked to permit him make a business trip to Baku
(Republic of Azerbaijan) for the period from September 6 until September
11 to meet a special rapporteur of the United Nations Hina Jilani.
Kirukov turned the request down.
(From our correspondent)
Nizniy Novgorod Report # 620
Dispersal of the human rights picket
URGENT MESSAGE Today, on 2 September 2005, the unauthorized human rights
picket that was being held in front of the building of the tax
inspection of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod situated at the
address 52a Ilinskaya Street was dispersed by order made by the
administration of Nizhny Novgorod and the prosecutors office of
Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod. Members of the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Nizhny Novgorod Committee against
Torture, Nizhny Novgorod Region Society for Human Rights, the Soldiers
Mothers Committee, Nizhny Novgorod branch of Yabloko party and its
youth movement participated in picketing the tax inspection. More than
twenty people took part in the picket. It started at 3 pm under the
following slogans, Tax inspection hands off from funds of public
organizations, Return money of the Chechen disabled people, Were
not going to give in! Dont expect it!
The decision to hold a picket although it had been prohibited by the
authorities of Nizhny Novgorod was taken by all its participants after
on 1 September they had had the prohibition signed by the vice-mayor S.V.
Gladyshev faxed to them and the prosecutor of Nizhegorodsky district of
Nizhny Novgorod justice counselor A.A. Ponomaryov had issued a warning
not to hold the picket. They motivated their decision by the breaking
the terms of notification about the intention to hold the picket and by
the fact that exact information about the measures taken by the
organizers to maintain the public order and to provide people with
medical aid were not indicated in the notification
. Besides, Mr.
Gladyshev drew attention of the human rights people to the existing
moral reasons to forbear from holding a public action in connection
with commemorating the anniversary of the tragic events in Beslan.
Issuing the warning , prosecutor Ponomaryov refers to the information
that he allegedly has at
his disposal concerning great possibility of unlawful acts being
committed while holding this public action that have signs of extremist
activities (public calls to forcible change of the constitutional order
and breach of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation,
seizure of power, inciting to racial, national or religious hatred,
public disorder, committing ruffian or vandalism acts reasoned by
ideological, political, racial, national hatred or hostility).
At about 3.10 pm representatives of the prosecutors office arrived at
the scene of the occurrence and at 3.22 pm a bus brought an OMON unit to
the scene. There were some twenty five OMON servicemen there. Having
received the order over a portable radio, they came up to the
participants of the picket and asked to disperse referring to the
unlawfulness of these actions and the instructions given by the city
administration. Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, a staffer of the Committee against
Torture, was the first participant of the picket who was detained
without any grounds. One of the OMON servicemen came up to him and asked
to show his passport. When Oleg gave the passport to him, the OMON
serviceman immediately took the passport to the militia bus. The OMON
servicemen tried to snatch the banners of the Russian Federation and the
unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria out of hands of the picketing
people. One of them grabbed the Russian flag and was going to throw it
to the ground. The
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society staffer Elena Sofronova got indignant
at it and she prevented this law-enforcement agent from committing an
act of vandalism against one of the state symbols Of the Russian
Federation. By 3.29 pm twelve participants of the picket had been taken
to the militia mini-van. They were Stanislav Dmitrievsky, the managing
director of the RCFS; staffers of the Information Agency at the RCFS
Elena Sofronova and Tatiana Banina, Igor Kalyapin, the leader of Nizhny
Novgorod Committee against Torture and the staffers of the Committee
Ylia Antonova, Evgeny Gladkov, Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, Elena Trmalova; the
leader of the youth branch of the Yabloko party Vyacheslav Lukin,
members of Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights Viktor Gursky,
Aleksey Grafov and Sergey Shimovolos. All the detainees were taken to
the police office of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod. As of
the present moment, its impossible to reach the detainees at their cell
phones.
The leader of the Committee of Soldiers Mothers Natalia Zhukova
commented on the picket dispersal, The events that took place at the
building of the tax inspection are can be described as arbitrariness.
The matter is that
Absolutely peaceful people came to state that they
considered the decision taken by the tax inspection unjust. A group of
these frights in camouflage was called against this absolutely
peaceful demonstration that was of no threat to anybody. The first thing
they did was grabbing the Russian banner and throwing it into the
mini-van. I think that such law-enforcement agents should not treat the
state symbols like that. Then they kept treating people in the same
arbitrary way
Without any hesitation and paying no attention to
journalists cameras and many people who were watching what was going
on, the force agents grabbed the participants of the picket at their
sleeves and violently pushed an elderly woman who felt bad afterwards. I
cant feel any other feeling
except indignation.
(From our correspondent)
Nizniy Novgorod Report # 621
All participants of the peaceful picket dispersed in Nizhny Novgorod
are released
2 September 2005. By 7 pm (Moscow time) all the detained participants of
the picket dispersed in Nizhny Novgorod had been released. The militia
drew up protocols on the breach of administrative law in the majority of
cases. The militiamen didnt manage to draw up some protocols as they
received the order to release all the detainees three hours after their
delivery to the police office of Nizhegorodsky district.
The RCIA reported before that on 2 September 2005 at about 3.35 pm, the
unauthorized human rights picket that was being held in front of the
building of the tax inspection of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny
Novgorod situated at the address 52a Ilinskaya Street was dispersed by
order made by the administration of Nizhny Novgorod and the prosecutors
office of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny Novgorod. Members of the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Nizhny Novgorod Committee against
Torture, Nizhny Novgorod Region Society for Human Rights, the Soldiers
Mothers Committee, Nizhny Novgorod branch of Yabloko party and its
youth movement participated in picketing the tax inspection. Twelve
participants were detained by the special militia forces.
On 26 August 2005 the tax inspection of Nizhegorodsky district of Nizhny
Novgorod began the procedure of compulsory withdrawal of funds from the
Russian-Chechen Friendship Society bank accounts. The funds are
withdrawn according to the order made by the tax inspection to exact the
income taxes by sending the collection letters to the bank according to
the procedure described in Article 46 of the Tax Code. 844 227 rubles
were ordered to be withdrawn from the accounts. Meanwhile, on 24 August
2005 the decision made by the tax body was appealed to the Arbitrage
Court of Nizhny Novgorod Region and on 29 August it was appealed to the
superior tax body. Human rights advocates regard this attempt to put
non-governmental organizations and commercial enterprises and to impose
the income tax upon the assets of the organization that are meant to
implement its projects as unlawful, absurd and politically biased.
(From our correspondent)
http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php
Reports of the RCFS
Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 615
Release of a resident of Pamyatoy village after his abduction
On 1 September 2005 a resident of Pamyatoy village of the Chechen Shatoy
district Zelimkhan Babuev was released after his abduction perpetrated
by a group of unidentified people on 26 July 2005. According to released
man, he was subjected to torture including electrical shock.
The whereabouts of Ibragim Mimbulatov who was abducted together with
Zelimkhan Babuev in the village of Pamyatoy remain unknown.
(From our correspondent)
Gudermes district. Chechen Republic Report # 616
Detention of a member of a criminal group in Gudermes
On 30 August 2005 the service personnel of the local police office
carried operative and search actions in Tereshkova Street in the Chechen
district center of Gudermes and detained a resident of Braguny village
of the Chechen Gudermes district (born 1973). The biographical
particulars of the detained man have not been revealed. According to a
source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic, the
detained man was an active member of a criminal group.
(From our correspondent)
Shalinskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 617
Disappearance of a woman in Argun
According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen
Republic, on 30 August 2005 a resident of Argun town of the Chechen
Shali district center Israpilova Petimat Ilasovna (born 1988) living at
4 Polevaya Street disappeared without any traces left.
(From our correspondent)
Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 618
New abductions in Grozny
On 30 August 2005 a group of ten unidentified people in camouflage took
a resident of Grozny Kadyrov Khasan Akhmadovich (born 1976), who lives
at the address 59 Druzhba St., ap.3, to an unknown destination,
according to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen
Republic.
The same day in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny
unidentified people in camouflage armed with submachine guns abducted
Chersiev Rasul Ramzanovich (born 1985) who lives at 14 Dudaev Avenue.
According to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the
republic, there were four people in the group that perpetrated the
crime.
On 29 August in Oktyabrsky district of Grozny ten unidentified armed
people burst into the house situated at the address 37 Yunaya Smena
Street and took Magomadov Rustam Rasambekovich (born 1976) under
gunpoint to an unknown destination. The whereabouts and the destiny of
the abducted man have not been established yet.
(From our correspondent)
Vedeno district. Chechen Republic Report # 622
Vedeno district is being shelled again
At dawn of 2 September 2005 the forested area situated in the vicinity
of the village of Elistanzhi of the Chechen Vedeno district was
subjected to shelling by the Russian artillery. In the previous evening
the area situated between the villages of Elistanzhi and Khattuni of the
Chechen Vedeno district was shelled. The local residents assume that
shelling was caused by more active actions of Chechen armed resistance
groups. Some information agencies, including Chechenpress, report that
on 1 September at daytime a group of Chechen guerrillas blew up an APC
of the federal forces 1,5 km away from the village of Elistanzhi.
(From our correspondent)
http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php
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