| Aug 19 2003 11:00AM 267 kidnapped this year in Chechnya GROZNY/MOSCOW. Aug 19 (Interfax) - The Chechen government estimates that over the first half of 2003, 267 people have been declared missing in the republic. "A total of 267 people were abducted in the first half of 2003. Five of these crimes have already been solved," the republic's First Deputy Prime Minister Movsar Khamidov, who supervises Chechnya's security agencies, told Interfax on Tuesday. A total of 564 people went missing in Chechnya in 2002. "We are still seriously concerned about the abductions. Law enforcement agencies have not been doing enough to prevent and solve these crimes," Khamidov noted. He said that people are kidnapped both by rebels and security agencies' officials. The president's commissioner for human rights in Chechnya, Abdul- Khakim Sultygov, told Interfax that a single database containing the names of people who were killed or went missing in Chechnya will be created in the near future. "A special-task interdepartmental working group will be set up to create the database. It will include representatives of federal and Chechen security agencies. The group is expected to start working in September," Sultygov said, adding that he will personally oversee its activities. The ombudsman also underscored the need for stricter control over movements of civilian and military vehicles in Chechnya in order to prevent further abductions and terrorist attacks. "All vehicles in Chechnya, both civilian and military, should have license plates and identification signs. The republic's checkpoints should be manned by both officers of the military traffic police service and the Chechen Interior Ministry," he added. "Military traffic police officers and Chechen Interior Ministry officials should be authorized to check and stop any vehicles without license plates. The current number of kidnappings and terrorist attacks reveals certain shortcoming in this work," Sultygov said. He also called on Chechnya's military commandant officials and local police to ensure joint night-time patrols in the republic's towns and villages. "This will allow for reversing the situation regarding crime," he added. ------------------------------------- Comment: Compare this with the press release here. M.M. |