| eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 3/6/2005 Events in Chechnya An unidentified explosive device contused a serviceman in Grozny's Leninskii district today, a source with Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry told Interfax. An officer of the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry's interior troops wounded his fellow serviceman as a result of carelessness in handling his gun in Mesker-Yurt, Shali district, the republican military commandant's office told Caucasian Knot's Sultan Abubakarov. Two armed persons in camouflage uniforms and masks abducted Isa Taisumov, a local resident, director of a construction firm, in Grozny's Leninskii district in the evening on 2 June, a source with Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry told Caucasian Knot's Sultan Abubakarov. A group of armed people in masks abducted two local residents in Urdiukhoi, Shatoi district, the police officer said. Also, armed people in camouflage uniforms driving a UAZ and a Zhiguli vehicles abducted a Chechen police officer in Iliinskaia, Grozny district, at 8.00 am MSK on 2 June, a source with Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry told RIA Novosti. Yakhita Azizov, a local resident, sustained shrapnel wounds in her chest because of the detonation of an unidentified explosive device on her farmland in Mesker-Yurt, Shali district, the district Division of Internal Affairs told RIA Novosti. A group of rebels fired at a Russian military post in Chechnya's Shatoi district yesterday. Two contract servicemen were wounded, according to the information obtained from Chechen law enforcement agencies. Besides, a contract serviceman of Russia's Defence Ministry was seriously wounded because of the detonation of an unidentified explosive device not far from Kirov-Yurt in the republic's Vedeno district, an officer with Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry said. Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent. June 6th 2005 · Prague Watchdog Six men abducted in Prigorodnoye By Ruslan Isayev GROZNY, Chechnya – Six young men were abducted this morning by an unknown armed group in the village of Prigorodnoye in the Groznensky (Rural) District. The location of the abducted men (aged from 19 to 23) is not known. According to their fellow villagers, none of the men were connected with any of the warring sides. Several members of the president’s security service (so-called “Kadyrovites”), who are friends of the men, tried to prevent the abduction. In the course of the fighting that ensued one of the “Kadyrovites” was wounded in the leg. Translated by David McDuff. www.watchdog.cz Chechnya Urgent Action: Killing of Six Civilians in the Chechen Republic by Russian Forces Said Alaskhanov, Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova and Dzhamlail Musaev, six civilians from Chechnya died on 11 January 2002 after being shot by members of a special unit of the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU). Captain Eduard Ulman, Lieutenant Alexander Kalaganskii, Sergeant Vladimir Voevodin and the deputy commander of the unit, Major Alexei Perelevskii, are currently on trial for a second time, having been acquitted of the charge of premeditated murder, premeditated destruction of property, and exceeding official authority in April 2004 in a military court in Rostov-on-Don. The North Caucasus district military court in April 2004 heard that the unit had been conducting a special operation against an armed opposition fighter in Chechnya, near the village of Dai on 11 January 2002. The court found that while checking cars on the road between the villages of Shatoi and Dai, Captain Eduard Ulman ordered his men to open fire on a civilian car after the driver ignored a request to stop. One passenger, Said Alaskhanov, director of a village school, was killed immediately from the gunfire, and two of the five passengers were wounded. According to the prosecution, the men under the command of Captain Eduard Ulman took the five surviving civilians, Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, deputy director of the local school, Shakhban Bakhaev, a forester, Khamzat Tuburov, the driver of the vehicle, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova, a pregnant mother of seven and Dzhamlail Musaev (sometimes referred to as Magomed Musaev), to a nearby abandoned farm building. There they gave first aid to the wounded, and detained them there while Captain Ulman reported the incident to Major Alexei Perelevskii by radio, who forwarded the report to the command of the military unit. The court found that Major Aleksei Perelevskii then passed back to Captain Eduard Ulman a message by radio from the command of the military unit, ordering him to eliminate the detained civilians. Captain Eduard Ulman passed on this order to his subordinates. According to the prosecution, Captain Ulman ordered his subordinates to tell the five individuals that they were free to leave, and then to shoot them as they walked away. Aleksandr Kalaganskii and Vladimir Voevodin carried out the order and shot and killed Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov and Zainap Dzhavatkhanova, put their bodies in the car and set it on fire. Dzamlail Musaev reportedly escaped but died later from his injuries. During the first trial in April 2004, the four officers did not deny having killed the civilians, but cited the defence that they had been following orders. They were found not guilty of all charges by the jury. The acquittals met with widespread criticism. Following an appeal by families of the victims, the Military Collegiate of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation quashed the verdict in August 2004 and sent the case to the same military court in Rostov-on-Don for re-trial, but with a different jury. The jury for the re-trial has been selected from across Southern Russia and the verdict is expected to be given some time in May 2005. Background information: Since its inception in 1999, the second armed conflict in the Chechen Republic has been characterized by widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Despite claims from Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen officials that the situation in the Republic is "normalizing", the conflict and its accompanying human rights abuses continue. Cases of extrajudicial executions, unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, "disappearances" and torture, including rape and ill-treatment are widely reported, with both Russian and Chechen security forces acting with almost complete impunity. Recommended Action: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Russian or your own language: - expressing concern about the original acquittal of Captain Eduard Ulman, Lieutenant Alexander Kalaganskii, Sergeant Vladimir Voevodin and Major Alexei Perelevskii who had relied on the defence that they had been following orders; - urging that the current trial meets the standards set by international human rights law for an independent and impartial investigation and prosecution; - urging the Russian authorities to identify all individuals responsible for the killing of Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova and Dzamlail Musaev, in particular the command of the military unit who allegedly gave the order to Major Alexei Perelevskii to eliminate the detained civilians; - stating that wilful killing, and the order that there shall be no survivors, constitute serious breaches of the laws of war according to the Geneva Conventions and its Protocol II and that the Russian Federation, as a High Contracting Party, has an obligation to prosecute all persons suspected of commissioning or committing these crimes; - calling on the Russian Federation to observe the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which represents the current consensus of the international community for definitions and procedures relating to war crimes and crimes against humanity and to which it is a Signatory; - citing article 25.3(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which states that a person shall be criminally responsible and liable for punishment for a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court if that person orders, solicits or induces the commission of such a crime which in fact occurs or is attempted; - citing article 33 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which states that the fact that a crime has been committed by a person pursuant to an order of a Government or a superior, whether military or civilian, shall not relieve that person of criminal responsibility; - pointing out that the killings of Abdul-Wakhab Satabaev, Shakhban Bakhaev, Khamzat Tuburov, Zainap Dzhavatkhanova and Dzamlail Musaev appear to be in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (the right to life), to which Russia is a party, and that the use of lethal force in the death of Said Alaskhanov raises serious concerns under Article 2; - condemning the ongoing grave and systematic human rights abuses in the Chechen Republic, and calling on the Russian authorities to take immediate steps to end such violations, including extrajudicial executions, unlawful killings, arbitrary detention, "disappearances" and torture, including rape, and ill-treatment. APPEALS TO: (Fax machines may be switched off outside office hours – GMT+3) President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN Kreml, Moscow, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 206 85 10 / +7 095 206 51 73 / +7 095 230 24 08 (if someone answers say "fax please") e-mail: Please go to the website of the President of the Russian Federation and paste your letter into the space provided: http://president.kremlin.ru/eng/articles/send_letter_Eng1a.shtml Salutation: Dear President Putin Procurator General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir USTINOV Ul. B. Dimitrovka 15a, 125993 Moscow, GSP-3, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 292 8848 (if someone answers say "fax please") Salutation: Dear Procurator General Chief Military Procurator of the Russian Federation, Let.-Gen. Aleksandr SAVENKOV pereulok Khulzunova, 14, 103160 Moscow, Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 247 50 19 (if someone answers say "fax please") Salutation: Dear Chief Military Procurator COPIES TO: Vladimir Lukin, Ombudsman of the Russian Federation Fax: +7 095 207 76 30 Ella Pamfilova, Chair of the Presidential Council for the development of civil society institutions and human rights Fax: +7 095 206 48 55 Maj.-Gen. Anatolii Petrochenkov, Chairman of the Military Collegium of the Russian Supreme Court Fax: +7 095 293 55 84 Sergey Borisovich Ivanov, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation Fax: + 7 095 293 83 98 and to diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation accredited to your country. PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the Russia Team at the International Secretariat if sending appeals after 31 May 2005 http://www.unpo.org/news_detail.php?arg=14&par=2613 Five people abducted in Chechnya GROZNY, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - Abduction of five people is under investigation in Chechnya, Chechecn police reported. The five have been abducted on June 7 in the Naursky, Shelkovskoy, Vedensky and Groznensky districts of Chechnya. "For instance, a local woman reported an abduction to the Naursky District's police department the other day. She said several unknown persons in camouflage fatigues burst into her house and abducted a son of hers," police said. A similar incident took place in the Shelkovskoy District where unknown perpetrators armed with assault rifles abducted two locals. In the Vedensky District, a local man reported his son abduction to police. "He said unknown men drove his son away at night as far back as June 5," the police officer said, adding that a woman came to the Groznensky District's police department to report the abduction of her son by unknown people. In Chechnya, 23 persons have been officially considered to be abducted over the past five months. The federal forces are involved in 5-10% of abductions in Chechnya, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said at a press conference on June 6. Three days' victims A contract serviceman from a military bomb squad received shrapnel wounds as a result of the detonation of an unidentified explosive device not far from Tsa-Vedeno, Vedeno district, the local Division of Internal Affairs said, quoted by Interfax. A Zhiguli car, parked by the roadside, exploded not far from a checkpoint at the exit from Grozny towards Argun in Khankalskaia St in Grozny's Oktiabrskii district when the car of Said-Selim Tsuyev, Chechnya's military call-up commissioner, was going by at 11.55 am on 4 June. Six persons were wounded as a result: three contract servicemen, a Defence Ministry officer, a police officer, an officer of the Shatoi District Division of Internal Affairs, and a local resident, Chechnya's Internal Affairs Ministry said on 5 June. The condition of one of them is critical, the source told Interfax. Tsuyev himself was not in the car at the moment, although the terrorist act is assumed to have been aimed at him. Sultan-Bek Abalayev, an active member of Chechnya's illegal armed formations, was killed because he put up armed resistance in the process of his detention in Grozny on 5 June, the Joint Press Centre of the Regional Operational Headquarters (ROH) for the Counter-terrorist Operation in the North Caucasus told RIA Novosti. Abalayev is said to have been involved in abductions and killings of law enforcement agents and civilians, as well as in terrorist acts and recruitment of rebels, especially from among young men. The bodies of two men were found in a house in Starogladovskaia, Shelkovskaia district, at night on 5 June, the local District Division of Internal Affairs told Interfax. One of them turned out to be a policeman and the other a local resident. One version is that a murder and suicide were committed in the house. The body of an unidentified girl of about 18-20 years of age was found near a chemical plant in Grozny's Zavodskoi district. "The girl was killed with several shots in her head," the source told Interfax. 6/6/2005 Ingushetia victimised The number of civilians abducted by officers of the North Caucasus Department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) is on the rise in Ingushetia. The rise in abductions links to the investigation into the Beslan tragedy, Novaya Gazeta newspaper says. People are abducted throughout the republic and brought to Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia. Confessions of being involved in the Beslan attack are beaten out of those abducted in the Vladikavkaz prosecutor's office. Adam Gorchkhanov, a detainee, died of beating on 30 May, says NEWSru.com. Officers of the FSB North Caucasus Department took him from his home in Nazran at 5.30 am on 23 May. After a long search, the Gorchkhanovs found Adam by chance in the pre-trial detention centre of the FSB North Ossetian Department on 26 May. On 28 May, Adam Gorchkhanov fell from the fourth floor of the strictly guarded building of the North Ossetian prosecutor's office during an interrogation, according to investigators. Meanwhile, there is no longer anyone who could confirm or deny the official version: Adam died unconscious in the Vladikavkaz republican hospital on 30 May. Those who washed his body before burial say it bore multiple marks of torture. In an open letter to FSB Director Nikolai Patrushev written one day before Adam's death, his parents asked for interference in the situation saying their son fell victim to a false report. The Gorchkhanovs accused FSB officers of total "home pogroms" and beating: "So many such truly barbarian deeds have lately been performed by officers of your service in Ingushetia that women and children tremble when they see or hear the abbreviation FSB." 7/6/2005 War hits children More than 5,000 children in Chechnya need artificial limbs, having suffered because of explosive devices, says the Chechen newspaper Groznenskii Rabochii. The feature claims there are more than 0.5 million explosive devices across Chechnya, according to official information. Ten thousand people have been killed or disabled by bombs and landmines since the beginning of the first Chechen campaign, according to the newspaper's information. The parents of most disabled children cannot afford even a Russian-made artificial limb which costs up to 15,000 roubles, the features says, according to Interfax. "Blown up small shepherds, young mowers, schoolchildren who on weekends change pens for woodcutter's axes are the sad statistics of our time," notes Groznenskii Rabochii. "Experts think people are off their guard because of the present relatively peaceful stage, as it is often forgotten than mine warfare continues much longer than the usual one with its bombings, shelling, and shootings," the feature author emphasises. Two underage shepherds were killed by a mine on the outskirts of Noibera, Gudermes district, just several days ago. Two boys, 12 and 14, triggered a mine on the outskirts of Novyi Sharoi, Achkhoi-Martan district, on 30 May. According to UNICEF, 717 children suffered because of landmine explosions in Chechnya between 1994 and 2004. One hundred and fourteen of them were killed. 7/6/2005 Military violates rights in crackdown In the morning on 6 June, in the process of targeted "clean-ups" in Prigorodnoye, Grozny district, representatives of Russian security agencies, presumably the Main Intelligence Department, abducted five young men: Umar Iliasov, a student at the Chechen State University, Muslim Akayev, Shamsudin Gatsayev, Khalid Zingayev, and Ali Kulayev. This information is provided by the Council of Nongovernmental Organisations. Eyewitnesses say the military men broke into the houses where the young guys live, seized them without any explanations and brought away without indicating the destination. In doing so, as local residents claim, in a skirmish that broke out the military wounded an officer of the Chechen presidential security service, Ruslan Murtazaliyev, who tried to prevent the abduction. On the same day, three of the detainees were released. The remaining two were allowed to go on 7 June. 7/6/2005 Ingush officials targeted An unidentified explosive device detonated at the gate to a house in Nazran that belongs to ex-Finance Minister of Ingushetia Enver-Hajji Khalukhayev at about 5.00 am today, ITAR-TASS says. No one suffered because of the explosion. A similar explosion occurred two weeks ago in Nazran at the gate to the house where Boris Komurzoyev, Health Minister of the Republic of Ingushetia, lives. No one suffered that time, either. Another explosive device with a clockwork mechanism was found at the gate to the house where Daud Albasov, Chairman of Ingushetia's Supreme Court, lives two weeks ago, too. The March of Peace continues across Europe Brussels Strasbourg 06.06.2005 - 01:20:27 The second Peace March is taking place between May 30 - June 22 from Brussels Belgium and cross Luxembourg and Germany and end in Strasbourg, where the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will be underway. A demonstration is scheduled for June 23, 2005 at 14:00 hours. The organizer of the international March of Peace Brussels Strasbourg, Said Emin Ibragimov stated that the international community must act to stop the bloodshed in Chechnya. ´´The civilian population of Chechnya is suffering heavy human rights violations. We are asking help from all nations to stop this Genocide´´ said, Ibragimov. The organizer of the international March of Peace Brussels Strasbourg Said Emin Ibragimov informs that on the 1 st of June, participants of the action arrived to the city of Namur, where they were met by local residents and representatives of the Chechen Diaspora. An improvised meeting, in which also local authorities took part, was carried out in the city. The same evening the meeting was shown on TV. After that, the March of Peace continued the movement to the city of Arlon. According to Said Emin Ibragimov the sanction for unobstructed movement from the authorities of Belgium, Luxembourg Germany and France, on the territory of which the March of Peace will pass, is received. It is expected, that on the 22 nd of June, participants of the action will arrive to Strasbourg and will pitch a tent city. The organizers of the action appeal to the Chechen Diaspora of Europe and to all interested people to support the March of Peace. The organizer of the international March of Peace Brussels Strasbourg Said Emin Ibragimov informs that The Peace March is hoping to draw the attention of the international community to the ongoing War in Chechnya. Contact phones of the participants of the March of Peace: International 0032 484 872440. Belgium 0484 872440. (Agency Caucasus) http://www.kafkas.org.tr/indexen.php#none The March of Peace Brussels - Strasbourg has reached Luxembourg The new stage of the international March of Peace Brussels - Strasbourg with the requirement to stop the military aggression of Russia against the CRI continues the procession across Europe. The March of Peace has already passed the territory of Belgium and now passes the territory of Luxembourg, the “Caucasus-center” informs about it. On the 3 rd of June, the participants of the March reached March-en-Fammene, in a province of Luxembourg (an adjacent territory of Belgium, which borders with the duchy of Luxembourg), where they were met by the Chechens living in this city and local residents. At the meeting in March-en-Fammene there were journalists of local editions. The March of Peace continues its movement in the direction to Arlon. We shall remind that authorities of Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and France authorized the unobstructed movement of the March through the territory of these states. It is expected, that on the 22 nd of June, participants of the action will arrive to Strasbourg and will set up a tent town. The organizers of the action appeal to the Chechen Diaspora in Europe and to all interested persons, to support the March of Peace. The contact phones of the participants of the March of Peace – international 0032-484-872-440 Belgium - 0484-872-440 07.06.05 http://www.chechenpress.co.uk/english/news/2005/06/07/08.shtml Beslan Mothers Protest Against Newly Appointed Republican Leader Created: 07.06.2005 MosNews Beslan Mothers organization has organized a protest action in the South Russian internal republic of North Ossetia against the appointment of new president Taimuraz Mamsurov. Mamsurov, earlier the region's parliamentary speaker, was appointed leader after the president Alexander Dzasokhov had left his office. The city of Beslan in North Ossetia became the scene of the bloody school siege in September 2004. The attack left over 300 people dead. About 20 women are now standing silently near the government office in the republic's capital of Vladikavkaz. They are holding posters saying "No trust to Mamsurov," "We will not let make career on the children's blood," "No to mafia." The government head, Alan Boradzov, asked the women to leave but they refused to do it. According to reforms approved after the Beslan tragedy, the Russian president Vladimir Putin now proposes a candidate for the republican parliament. After the tragedy, Dzasokhov dismissed the republic's government. Local residents also wanted him to leave that time but he refused. Mamsurov's son and daughter were among hostages in the school. |