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Monday, January 30, 2006. Page 1. Rights Group Faces Closure By Anatoly Medetsky Staff Writer The government agency that registers nongovernmental organizations said Friday that it asked a court to shut down an umbrella human rights center supported by two prominent NGOs, the Moscow Helsinki Group and the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees, over minor legal infractions. The Justice Ministry's Federal Registration Service also said it successfully sued to close 300 NGOs last year and that more than 400 similar cases were pending. NGOs said the lawsuits were part of a plan by authorities to clamp down on civil society, which they said also included the recent passage of a law restricting NGOs and a spy scandal purportedly involving British diplomats who authorized grants for NGOs. The registration agency last month accused the Russian Human Rights Research Center, which brings together 12 NGOs including the Moscow Helsinki Group and the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees, of not having informed the authorities of its existence since 1999, Galina Fokina, deputy head of the service's department for nongovernmental and religious organizations, said Friday. If the agency wins the case scheduled for Feb. 27 in Moscow's Basmanny District Court, the center will lose its status as a legal entity and will not be allowed to maintain a bank account, she said. Without a bank account, an NGO cannot accept outside funding. Lyubov Vinogradova, the center's director, said it sent the notices in the past two years and was reviewing its files to check if such notices were sent in previous years. But she said she was sure that the legal action against her center was a sign of a growing pressure on NGOs. "We feel ... that the attitude toward us has changed," she said. "All kinds of faults are blamed on us." The registration service last year filed lawsuits seeking to shut 825 NGOs as legal entities, Galina Fokina, deputy head of the service's department for nongovernmental and religious organizations, said Friday. Moscow's Basmanny District Court revoked the registration of 300 NGOs last year, Alexei Zhafyarov, head of the service's NGOs and religious organizations department, said by telephone Friday. The NGOs were not represented in court, he said, without naming the NGOs concerned. Ninety-nine other NGOs had corrected their violations and kept their bank accounts, Zhafyarov said. More than 400 cases are to be heard later this year, he said. The service demanded the NGO closures on the grounds that they broke laws enacted from 1995 to 2002, Fokina said. From 1995 to 1999, the laws required NGOs to reregister, and from 2002 NGOs were required to file annual reports and inform the authorities that they were still operating, she said. Human rights groups are also battling last week's accusation by President Vladimir Putin and the Federal Security Service that several of them received funding from British spies. The groups said in a joint statement Friday that the accusations, first broadcast on Rossia state television Jan. 22, were reminiscent of smear campaigns during the time of Stalin's purges. "It is deplorable that journalists and state officials are discussing the financing of NGOs by British intelligence as a proven fact. Frequent repetition does not make a lie the truth," said the statement, which was signed by 85 activists from dozens of rights organizations across the country, including some singled out in the television program. "This provocation has reminded many people of the system of denunciation and slander in the notorious years of mass repression in the Soviet Union." The FSB said last week it had uncovered British spies, one of whom had signed off on British government grants to Russian NGOs. The statement said NGOs would take legal action to defend their reputation. Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, which was specifically accused of taking money from British spies, told Ekho Moskvy radio on Friday: "There are very well-known and highly qualified lawyers who are prepared to conduct legal proceedings if we decide to go to court." The spy scandal broke 12 days after Putin signed a law imposing tough restrictions on Russian NGOs, mostly concerning foreign funding. Kommersant, Jan. 27, 2006 Russia's Justice Ministry to Wind Up Human Rights Center The Federal Registration Service of Justice Ministry has lodged a claim seeking dissolution for the Human Rights Research Center of Russia, Gazeta.Ru reports Friday. According to the Federal Registration Service, "the above public association has provided no data on continuation of its activities for five years." On January 10, the Justice Ministry refused to add the changes in board of this organization to the Uniform State Register of Entities, the Federal Registration Service specified. The claim was forwarded to Basmanny Court of Moscow. "We have notifications confirming the reports on our activities were received by the Justice Ministry," Lyubov Vinogradova, director of the Human Rights Center, said as quoted by Regnum. Russia's Human Rights Center was set up in 1992 to promote democratic values and advocate priority of human rights in Russia. It unites 12 organizations, including Moscow Helsinki Group, Union of Soldiers Mothers Committees, Association for Protecting Disabled Persons Rights and others. by www.kommersant.com Police arrest human rights activists in Moscow MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - Police arrested several members of human rights groups staging an authorized rally near the Federal Security Service (FSB) building in central Moscow Wednesday. Around 50 protesters gathered near the FSB headquarters, chanting "Hands off human rights groups." Police arrested three of the protestors just after the start of the rally, and later arrested another nine. Those arrested included Lev Ponomaryov, the leader of the For Human Rights movement. Sergei Mitrokhin, a deputy leader of the liberal political party Yabloko, and Viktor Anpilov, leading the hard-line communist Working Russia party, were also among the protesters. The protest comes on the heels of a rise in concerns over Russia's treatment of human rights groups and other non-governmental organizations, and in particular over the introduction of a new NGO law that critics say is too restrictive. It also follows a recent Moscow espionage scandal, in which Russian security services said they had exposed British agents who were working under diplomatic cover in Moscow and financing local non-government organizations. The scandal supported Russia's case for tightening reporting rules for NGOs operating in Russia, authorities said. The British agents had discredited the groups that they funded, the FSB said, but admitted that such organizations pursued useful programs and helped many people Solidarity with Russian NGOs -- "The Spy Scandal": Position of civic organizations Yuri Dzhibladze, President, Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights ul. Volhonka 14, 4th floor, office 425, Moscow, 119992, Russia tel.+fax: +7 (095) 203 9196, dzhib@yandex.ru, dzhib@demokratia.ru www.demokratia.ru, http://ags.demokratia.ru, www.tolerance.ngo.ru, www.hri.ru Dear all, Attached please see a statement by Russian NGOs " "A Spy Scandal": Position of Civic Organizations" from January 26 (English translation and a Russian original). It has been already signed by more than 700 Russian NGOs and citizens and more than 30 people from abroad. Please consider endorsing the appeal – as individuals or organizations – and send this appeal on for others to sign. As you may know, Russian Federal Security Service has made claims that ten or more Russian human rights NGOs have been funded by representatives of British Intellegence Service in Moscow and alleges that investigation will be made into those NGOs' activities. Russian Parliament and President Putin speak now about foreign intellegence funding of Russian NGOs as if it were a fact. Among NGOs about whom allegation have been made by the FSB and the media are Moscow Helsinki Group, Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Committee against Torture (Nizhny Novgorod) and others. Russian civil society and human rights organizations need your support and solidarity. If you would like to endorse the statement, you can do it either as a representative of an organization or in your individual capacity. Please send your name, organizational affiliation (if appropriate) or occupation, city and country to julia@hro.org or add your name directly in the Internet on "Human Rights Online" web site at http://www.hro.org/ngo/about/2006/01/26-2.php. Your contact information will not be transferred to third parties or made public. Thank you for your solidarity. Sincerely yours, Yuri Dzhibladze ************************************** To all those who know that helping others is not a subversive activity * HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS ARE UNDER ATTACK IN RUSSIA! * Representatives of Russian human rights organizations are calling on all NGOs and concerned individuals to express their support. Please add your signatures - as individuals or organizations - and send this appeal on for others to sign. * PLEASE DO NOT STAND BY AND WATCH FREEDOM CRUSHED! * STATEMENT OF RUSSIAN NGOs "THE SPY SCANDAL": POSITION OF CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS January 26, 2006 As representatives of Russian non-governmental organizations (NGO), we are outraged by the provocative statements made by representatives of the FSB (Federal Security Service) and the mass media during and after the program "Special Correspondent" broadcast on 22 January on TV Channel "Rossiya" alleging that the British Intelligence Service has been involved in the financing of Russian NGOs. This is nothing more than a flagrant distortion of facts, and has no basis in truth. The fact that Russian NGOs were mentioned in the same breath as an intelligence service was clearly aimed at creating in the viewers' mind an impression that there was some link between them. It is most regrettable that journalists and public officials discuss alleged financing of NGOs by the British Intelligence Service as though it were established fact. A lie, nevertheless, does not turn into the truth, however often repeated. The non-governmental organizations mentioned by the mass media and by FSB representatives have received grants and donations on an entirely open and lawful basis from an official fund of the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This was carried out on the basis of agreements through Russian bank accounts and with full accountability before the tax authorities. Information about the results of the social and educational programs implemented on the basis of these grants, as well as the legal and other assistance provided to those in need, is openly available for scrutiny by the mass media. However the journalist involved did not approach any NGO when preparing his program which meant that important information was not made available to the viewer, and the actual program proved one-sided, biased and misleading. We would therefore like to make up for this professional failing. Allocation of grants for non-profit projects from ministries of foreign affairs and foreign embassies is a practice commonly accepted throughout the world. Our country is no exception. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MID) has long financed the activity of foreign NGOs, and the Russian state budget for 2006 sets aside half a billion rubles (approximately 17 million US dollars) for supporting the work of NGOs in the area of promotion of democracy and human rights, including NGOs abroad. The Russian government and public authorities at various levels receive grants and large amounts of financial assistance from foreign states for their programs, including programs for chemical disarmament, utilization of old nuclear submarines, training for military offices, court and tax reform, fighting AIDS and others. We state firmly: Russian human rights and other non-governmental organizations work in accordance with the law; their activity is transparent, legitimate and aimed at resolving issues of public significance and protecting public interests. Their authority is acknowledged by the Russian authorities which have consistently cooperated with all of the NGOs whose reputation has now been placed in question due to one unprofessional journalist's feature program and subsequent statements issued. We consider that the commentaries from FSB representatives and a number of media outlets are undermining the interaction between the authorities and civil society in Russia, and that the attempts by certain politicians and the State Duma Deputies to use the "spy scandal" to discredit NGOs, and particularly human rights organizations is harmful to society. We deeply regret that such actions are possible in the present day, 15 years after the fall of the Soviet regime in our country. This provocative act is reminiscent to many of the system of informing on others and slander during the notorious years of mass repressions in the USSR. We are convinced that the television feature on channel "Rossiya" was not by chance broadcast several days after the publication of the law on non-governmental organizations which had elicited considerable well-founded criticism. The authors and supporters of the law did not then succeed in convincing the Russian public or the international community that the restrictive measures envisaged by the law were appropriate and necessary from the point of view of security. It is clear that the scandal provoked by the television program was directed at persuading Russian society, the leadership of the country and foreign partners that this stringent law is required. Such provocation is the most effective means of putting Russia to shame and undermining its authority on the world stage at the beginning of its chairing the G8. It is in the interests of the development of our country to support the activity of civic organizations and not to launch a witch hunt against them. Either ignoring or demonizing NGOs hinders the process of resolving Russia's social problems, impedes the development of civil society and weakens the state. We consider it necessary to turn to mechanisms allowed for in both Russian and international law to protect the reputation of organizations which have come under attack. We remain, however, open to dialogue - Russian human rights and civic activists have absolutely nothing to hide. ________________________________________ If you would like to endorse the statement please send your name, organizational affiliation (if appropriate) or occupation, city and country to julia@hro.org or add your name directly in the Internet on "Human Rights Online" web site at http://www.hro.org/ngo/about/2006/01/26-2.php. Chechen lawmakers have declared war on abductions WPS- January 27, 2006 Friday Aidar Buribayev THE PARLIAMENT OF CHECHNYA HAS DECIDED TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL COMMISSION WHICH WILL INVESTIGATE ABDUCTIONS OF CITIZENS; The parliament of Chechnya has decided to establish a special commission which will investigate abductions of citizens. The new body is headed by Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, speaker of the regional parliament and a close ally of Ramzan Kadyrov. The parliament of Chechnya has decided to establish a special commission which will investigate abductions of citizens. The new body is headed by Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, speaker of the regional parliament and a close ally of Ramzan Kadyrov. The commission consists of people familiar with this problem (for instance, Magomed Khambiyev, former defense minister of Maskhadov's Cabinet). He gave up in spring 2004 because his *40 relatives were taken hostages. Ibragim Suleimenov, a general of the Russian Army and former member of the Duma who convinced Boris Yeltsin to release Beslan Gantamirov from custody at the start of the second Chechen campaign, is another member of the commission. The decision to establish the commission was made a day before the discussion of the Chechnya problem in the PACE. Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said: "Lawmakers cannot replace law enforcement agencies. We will meet with representatives of the security structures every day." He noted that abductions have become the most topical problem for Chechen citizens. The regional leadership focused on this problem in December during Vladimir Putin's visit to Grozny. Putin warned Chechen lawmakers: "We must stop abductions of people and punish the guilty regardless of what structures they represent." Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov noted that 3,000 people have disappeared in the republic since the end of the first Chechen campaign. Defenders of human rights state that 2,000 to 5,000 people have been abducted in the republic. The Memorial center states that 316 people were kidnapped in 2005; 151 people were released; 127 people disappeared for good. Defenders of human rights are sure that the majority of abductions are linked with the activities of Ramzan Kadyrov's security service. Anyway, the Chechen legislature will not be able to reproach the separatists. The Chechen prosecutor's office stated yesterday that only 700 guerrillas operate in the republic. In other words, the commission's investigation can damage the official security structures. Alexei Malashenko, an expert of the Moscow Carnnegie Center, said: "Kadyrov will have to account to Putin and sacrifice someone from his team." Kadyrov's commission may try to shift the blame onto the federal forces. Source: Gazeta, January 25, 2006, p. 2 Translated by Alexander Dubovoi 30.1.2006 Democratic Union joins journalists' action to support Stanislav Dmitriyevsky RUSSIA, Moscow. To voice its solidarity with Stanislav Dmitriyevsky, who is being prosecuted, Democratic Union decided to publish on its website the addresses by Akhmed Zakayev and Aslan Maskhadov. It was the publication of these documents in Pravozashchita newspaper that prompted Stanislav Dmitriyevsky's prosecution. The address by Central Coordination Committee of Democratic Union, signed by Valeria Novodvorskaya, states: "To support the initiative of the Internet sites www.prima-news.ru and www.radikaly.ru and in solidarity with Stanislav Dmitriyevsky we will also publish on Democratic Union's website the 'incriminating' addresses and are hereby informing Prosecutor General that his criminals are breeding like rabbits (by literal exercise of Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the right to seek, receive and spread information and ideas by any means and regardless of state borders). We urge all the independent media to do the same". Translated by Olga Sharp PRIMA-News Agency RCIA reports Sunzhenskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 992 A detained resident of Sernovodsk is suspected of being involved into combatant's criminal activities On 24.01.2006, police detained a resident of the settlement of Sernovodskaya of the Chechen Sunzha district Betolmerzoev Aslan Movladievich (born 1975) in his house situated at the address 21 Krupskaya Street. The detention has been reportedly caused by suspicions the police has against Betolmerzoev of being involved into activities of so-called illegal armed formations. (From our correspondent) Shelkovskoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 991 Detention of a wanted criminal On 29.01.2006, in the settlement of Staroschedrinskaya of the Chechen Shelkovskoy district the service personnel of 2nd regiment of the patrol police at the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic detained a resident of Dagestan Amirkhan Matekov (born 1971). According to a source within the Interior Ministry of the republic, the detained man “has been on the wanted list since 1993 after he committed several grave crimes”. (From our correspondent) Sunzhenskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 990 Resident of Sernovodsk has been found dead On 26.01.2006, residents of the village of Sernovodskaya of the Chechen Sunzha district found the corpse of Gudaev Dukvakha Yaragievich (born 1987) in the house where he lives. According to some testimonies, the corpse bore signs of violent death. The information was obtained from a source within the Interior Ministry of the republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 989 Female resident of Tolstoy-Yurt village has gone missing On 23.01.2006, a resident of the village of Tolstoy-Yurt of the Chechen Grozny rural district Tokhtorbaeva Selima Rukmanovna (born 1980) disappeared without any traces left. According to a source within the law-enforcement bodies of the republic, the woman left home for work and has never come back home. As of the present moment, the whereabouts of Seloma Tokhtobaeva has not been established. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 988 Two combatants are killed in Grozny On 25.01.2006 law-enforcement agents shot dead two Chechen combatants in a clash between them that started when they were carrying out a search operation in Leninsky district of Grozny. The combatants were reportedly hiding in house #1 in Federativnaya Street. According to the information obtained from an anonymous source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, the killed man have been identified as Nakaev Adam Ginazovich (born 1984), a resident of the Sernovodskaya village of the Chechen Sunzha district and Sultanov Rustam Bauddinovich (born 1981), also a resident of the same village. According to the source, one militiaman was also killed in the clash. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 987 Disclosure of an ammunition cache On 28.01.2006 law-enforcement agents disclosed an ammunition cache in a well located in the yard of the house #2 in Krestyanskaya Street in Leninsky (Avtorkhanovsky) district of Grozny. It contained four mortar shells, eight grenade cup chargers and one grenade fuse. (From our correspondent) Naurskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 986 A male resident of Alpatovo village is found dead On 22 January 2006 residents of the village of Alpatovo of the Chechen Naur district found a corpse of Chimerzi Dushaev (born 1936) in his house situated at the address 42 Mir Street. The corpse reportedly bore no signs of violent death. (From our correspondent) Naurskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 985 A resident of the Mekenskaya settlement has gone missing On 23 January 2006 a resident of the village of Mekenskaya of the Chechen Naur district Etiev Rustam disappeared without any traces left, according to a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. He is registered at the address 124 Batareynaya Street. As of the present moment, there has been no information about the destiny and whereabouts of Rustam Etiev. (From our correspondent) Achkhoy-Martan district. Chechen Republic Report # 984 A detention of a combatant in Achkhoy-Martan On 27 January 2006, the law-enforcement agents detained Khachukaev Ershtkho Sultanovich (born 1983) in the Achkhoy-Martan district center of the Chechen Republic where he lives at the address 173 Nuradilov Street. According to the information obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic, “the detainee has been an active member of the criminal armed group headed by Akhmed Daudov”. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 983 A resident of the village of Eshikhatoy is detained in Grozny On 28 January 2006 the law-enforcement agents detained Danashev Ramzan Abuyazidovich (born 1971) in Grozny on suspicion of being involved into activities of the so-called illegal armed formations. Danashev is a resident of the village of Eshilkhatoy of the Chechen Vedeno district. The information was obtained from a source within the Ministry of the Interior of the republic. (From our correspondent) Grozny rural district. Chechen Republic Report # 982 Female resident of Tolstoy-Yurt has gone missing On 29 January 2006, a resident of the village of Tolstoy-Yurt of the Chechen Grozny rural district Soltukhanova Markha Magomedovna (born 1982) disappeared without any traces left. As of the present moment, her relatives have no information about the fate of the missing young woman. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 981 The staff personnel are interrogated again in regard to the criminal case on tax evasion On 26 January 2006 the executive manager of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society Stanislaw Dmitrievsky and the accountant of the organization Natalia Chernelevskaya were again interrogated at the Main Investigatory Department at the Ministry of the Interior office in Nizhny Novgorod in connection with the criminal case on tax evasion. The investigator Vorobyov asked both of them to provide legal grounds for non-payment of the profit tax. Both Dmitrievsky and Chernelevskaya were interrogated as witnesses to the criminal case. They stated that the RCFS has never gained any profit and is not able to do it. They proved the charitable character of the activities implemented by the RCFS and referred to the norms of the law “On Charitable Activities” and the Tax Code of the Russian Federation according to which the funds aimed at charitable programs are tax exempt. According to the previous reports, on 15 August 2005 the Nizhny Novgorod district tax inspection made ruling No 25 to bring the RCFS to tax accountability for the alleged breach of the tax law. Tax inspectors claim in that document that the Society has to pay the profit tax and fines amounting to 1 001 561 rubles for the funds received in the period from 2002 till 2004 and aimed at implementing specific projects. On 2 September 2005 the Ministry of the Interior commenced a criminal case against the RCFS under part 1 of Article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (evasion from taxation in a big scale). On 12 September 2005 the judge Belyanina with the court of arbitration of Nizhny Novgorod Region made a decision to suspend ruling No 25. The consideration of the complaint lodged by the RCFS against the tax inspections has been protracted. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 980 Details of the abduction of a resident of the village of Troitskaya On 26.01.2006 Nizhny Novgorod-based editorial office of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency managed to establish new details of the abduction of a resident of the settlement of Troitskaia Musostov Ibragim Sulumbekovich (born 1971) (see our release No1690 from 26.01.2006). We reported earlier that on 25 January 2006 representatives of an unidentified force agency moving around in a white “Niva” vehicle stopped Musostov's Zhiguli car of the 6th model not far from the airport of Magas town (Ingushetia). According to some eye-witnesses, the perpetrators captured Musostov and forced him into their car. The man was reported to work as a carpenter. . A correspondent of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency has managed to clarify some details of the abduction. According to the relatives of the abducted man, Ibragim Musostov was abducted at about 5.20 pm not far from the Magas airport in the area where the gas station and a caf? are situated. The staff personnel of the caf? saw seven unknown people in camouflage moving around in two “Niva” vehicles. One of the cars was white and the other was reportedly black. Neither of them had state license plates. According to testimonies of some witnesses, those armed people made an attempt to detain Musostov but he tried to run away. The abductors ran him down and seized him. Having pushed the man into one of their cars, they drove away in the direction of the administrative border with the Chechen Republic. The perpetrators left the car belonging to Musostov on the road. Musostov's relatives assume that he must have been abducted by servicemen of the Anti-Terror Center at the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic (the former security service of Akhmad Kadyrov). Today Musostov's mother submitted an application on her son's abduction to the prosecutor's office. The RCIA correspondent reports the woman as stating that her son has never been involved into activities of the so-called illegal armed formations. (From our correspondent) Moscow Report # 979 A Chechen girl will continue the course of medical treatment in the Geymgolts Institute of Eye Deceases after a successful operation in Burdenko On 26 January 2006 a resident of the village of Tazen-Kala of the Chechen Vedeno district Zareta Suleymanova (born 1986) completed the course of medical treatment in the Burdenko research institute and left the hospital. Zareta is going to continue the course at the Geymgolts Institute of Eye Deceases (Moscow). We remind that on 17 January 2006 specialists of the Burdenko Institute operated on Zareta Suleymanova to reconstruct the bone of the left forehead and temple area and the outward edge of the left eye (see O.R. from 18.01.2006). The operation was successful and Zareta was in a stable condition, her doctors made a decision to send her for setting a prosthetic left eye to the Geymgolts Institute of Eye Deceases. Zareta Suleymanova is suffering from serious after-effects of the wound that she received in the beginning of December 2004 when a Russian military helicopter launched a missile attack at her house. The girl was seriously shell-shocked and she lost her left eye (see our releases No1046 from 14.12.2004 and O.R. from 10.01.2006). Her younger brother Saydan was killed that day. (From our correspondent) Ingushetia Report # 978 Abduction of a resident of the settlement of Troitskaza On 25 January 2006 representatives of an unidentified force agency captured a Musostov (his biographical particular are being established) in the immediate vicinity to the airport of the town of Magas (the Republic of Ingushetia). According to the preliminary information, there were several perpetrators who were moving around in a white “Niva” vehicle. The kidnapped man is reported to work as a carpenter. He made stools and sold them at the local market to earn his living. On 25 January he was going back home in his 6th model “Zhiguli” car after he had done some purchases at the building material market located not far from the Magas airport. Musostov's car was stopped near the airport by several armed men in camouflage. There were some witnesses who saw the perpetrators grabbing the man and pushing him into their car. As of the present moment, the whereabouts and the destiny of the disappeared man have not been established. (From our correspondent) Nizniy Novgorod Report # 977 The Russian-Chechen Information Agency has been awarded with the “Free Press of Russia-2006” award 25.01.2006. The Russian-Chechen Information Agency established by the Russian Chechen friendship Society has been awarded by the “Free Press of Russia 2006” award. The amount of the award is 20 000 Euros. According to the terms of the award, the funds have to be directed at the further professional development of the information agency. The decision on the laureates was made by the “Freedom of Word” Foundation (Fritt Ord, Oslo, Norway) and “ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius” Foundation, (Hamburg, Germany) within the framework of the joint project aimed at developing professional journalism in the Eastern Europe. The ceremony of the handling the reward will be held in the Big Hall of the Hamburg City Hall on 19 May 2006. The chief editor of the RCIA Stanislaw Dmitrievsky has been invited to participate in the ceremony. Meanwhile, on 18 January the state prosecutor demanded to sentence him for four-year term of imprisonment for re-publication of the appeals to peace by the leaders of the Chechen separatist movement. According to the previous reports, Dmitrievsky was officially charged on 2 September 2005 under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “for inciting to hatred or enmity”. Dmitrievsky is facing a five-year term of imprisonment for allowing the re-publication of the peace appeals by Aslan Maskhadov and Akhmed Zakaev in the “Pravo-zaschita” newspaper. Both appeals contained the tough rhetoric against the policy of the Russian authorities, its armed forces and personally President Vladimir Putin in the North Caucasus. Human rights defenders consider all the charges preferred against Dmitrievsky politically biased and aimed at the curtailing the constitutional guarantee for the freedom of speech. On 15 November “Amnesty International” made an open statement in which they stated that Dmitrievsky will be declared a prisoner of conscience in case he is convicted. Among the other laureates of the award are “Solidarnost” newspaper (Minsk), “The Pravda of Ukraine” (Kiev); “The Soviet Kalmykia Today” (Volgograd); “Izvestia of Vyborg” (Vyborg), as well as Veronika Shakhova (Blagoveschenck) and Fatima Tlisova (Nalchik). (From our correspondent) Naurskiy district. Chechen Republic Report # 975 A female resident of Novotesrkaya settlement is abducted after her husband disappeared According to the information obtained from a source within the law-enforcement bodies of the Chechen Republic, on 19.01.2006 unidentified people snatched away a resident of the village of Novoterskoye of the Chechen Naur district Vasil'chenko Nadezhda Ivanovna (born 1957). She lives there at the address 6 Pobeda Street, ap. 4. According to her neighbors, two days before the woman's abduction, her husband Vasil'chenko Viktor Alekseevich (born 1947) disappeared with no traces left. (From our correspondent) Shatoy district. Chechen Republic Report # 974 Two military servicemen fell victims to a land mine explosion On 21 January 2006 a reconnaissance unit of the Russian military forces was turned apart on a landmine planted in the forested area situated between the settlements of Ryadukhoy and Borzoy of the Chechen Shatoy district. Two Russian soldiers were killed, according to the obtained information. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 973 Another abduction of a resident of Grozny On 22 January 2006 a group of four unidentified armed people abducted Tsukaev Salman Vakhitovich (born 1968) from his own house situated in the Leninsky district of Grozny at the address 47 Gurin Street. As of the present moment, there is no information about the whereabouts of the abducted man. (From our correspondent) Grozny. Chechen Republic Report # 972 Abduction of a resident of Grozny On 24 January 2006 the Nizhny Novgorod-based editorial office of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency received information about abduction of Khamstkhanov Il'as Edil'sotovich (born 1955), a resident of Oktyabrsky district of Grozny where he lives at the address 19 Khasavyurtovskaya Street. According to the information obtained from a source within the Interior Ministry of the republic, on 12 January the man was snatched away from his house by a group of eight unidentified armed people. As of the present moment, there is no information about the whereabouts of the abducted man. (From our correspondent) http://www.ria.hrnnov.ru/eng/index.php