Appendix
Update on the situation in Chechnya
The human rights situation in Chechnya remained dire in 2004. Although large “mopping up” operations (in Russian, zachistki) characteristic of federal force actions in previous years were less frequent, arbitrary detentions at the hands of Russian and Chechen security services remained common. Abductions most often occurred during nighttime raids on targeted Chechen homes and were usually followed by enforced disappearance, torture, and ill treatment. The Russian and Chechen security services responsible for the majority of these crimes continue to enjoy almost complete impunity.
According to the Russian Human Rights Center Memorial, which conducts monitoring in approximately one-third of the republic, at least 396 residents were kidnapped in Chechnya in 2004. Of those kidnapped, 175 “disappeared.” In addition, 293 residents were killed during the year. The ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Chechen Security Council head Rudnik Dudayev as stating that approximately 500 people were kidnapped in Chechnya in 2004.
Terrorism and other attacks contributed to a dangerous destabilization of the whole of the Northern Caucasus region. The President of the Chechen Republic, Akhmed Kadyrov, was assassinated while attending World War II victory day celebrations in Grozny on 9 May 2004. On June 22, armed fighters carried out a coordinated raid in Ingushetia, causing at least 45 casualties. Armed fighters also conducted a large-scale attack on 20 August in Grozny. On September 1-3 a group of hostage takers held thousands of children and adults hostage in a school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia. The siege resulted in the massacre of 330 schoolchildren, their teachers, and parents. This hostage taking was preceded in late August by the downing of two airliners in Russia, apparently by suicide bombers, and a suicide bomb attack outside a Moscow metro station.
In response to these events, the Russian authorities proposed sweeping changes in the political and electoral systems across Russia. The Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Ustinov, proposed extreme measures to curb the rebel attacks that included a call to detain relatives of prominent Chechen fighters as hostages in an attempt to force the rebels to surrender. Human rights groups denounced this proposal as contradicting international human rights treaties, which clearly forbid hostage taking. Memorial reported in December that forces loyal to the Moscow-backed Chechen government detained eight relatives of rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov.
Following the assassination of Akhmed Kadyrov, special elections were held in late August to elect a new president. Several prominent candidates, including Moscow-based lottery tycoon Malik Saidullayev, who enjoy popularity among Chechen civilians were excluded from running on the basis of technicalities and other unfair practices. The official Chechen election commission reported that the Kremlin-backed candidate, Chechen Interior Minister Alu Alkhanov, won over 73% of the votes with voter turnout of over 80%. Journalists and election monitors from Russian NGOs reported a starkly different picture of deserted streets and empty polling stations, and the US State Department called the elections “seriously flawed.” Akhmed Kadyrov’s son, Ramzan Kadyrov, who commands the presidential security force known as the “Kadyrovtsy,” was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. There are numerous credible reports accusing “Kadyrovtsy” of abducting and torturing Chechen civilians. Nevertheless, Ramzan Kadyrov was awarded the “Hero of Russia” medal in December for courage and heroism displayed during the discharge of official duties.
Throughout the year, the Russian government succeeded in pressuring thousands of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) still living in official camps in Ingushetia to return to Chechnya. Following the 22 June rebel attack on Ingushetia, the International Helsinki Federation and the Moscow Helsinki Group reported an increase in police operations targeting the camps. These operations involved mass detention, beatings and intimidation and left many IDPs without a choice but to return home, and the authorities subsequently closed the remaining tent camps. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, in August 2004, the number of IDPs still residing in Ingushetia was 46,000, a considerable decrease from a total of 66,000 estimated present in January 2004.
Amnesty International reported in November that Russian and Chechen security forces were increasingly targeting human rights defenders and activists as well as applicants to the European Court of Human Rights. The organization reported cases of extra-judicial executions, disappearances, torture and ill treatment against these persons and their close relatives. Some human rights activists were forced to cease working or leave Russia out of fear for their safety.
Accountability in Chechnya
Widespread impunity for serious human rights abuses in Chechnya remained unchanged in 2004. In only one case in the Chechnya Justice Project’s entire caseload was there an arrest or trial of a suspect, and not a single indictment. Although the Russian government states that the procuracy and court systems are fully functional in Chechnya, there remains an indefensible lack of progress on criminal cases. In one of the few cases that have gone to trial, a jury acquitted four Russian servicemen accused of murdering six Chechen civilians. The jury found that, while the men had indeed shot dead the driver and passengers in a civilian automobile in January 2002, and had then set fire to the automobile with their corpses to cover up the shooting, the officers “had not exceeded their authority” because they were acting under orders. No charges have been brought against the senior officer who issued those orders.
Following up on its previous statements on the human rights situation in Chechnya, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated in its October 2004 Resolution, “there is little progress in the prosecution of perpetrators of human rights violations by the national law enforcement bodies” and reiterated its previous statement that “a climate of impunity is prevailing in the Chechen Republic due to the fact that the Chechen and Federal law enforcement authorities are still unwilling or unable to hold accountable for their actions the vast majority of perpetrators of serious human rights violations.”
Although in most instances local prosecutors continue to launch criminal investigations into civilians’ complaints of serious abuses, they routinely suspend these investigations shortly afterwards, claiming it is impossible to establish the identity of the perpetrator. Yet, in most cases, investigators fail to take even the most basic investigative steps of questioning eyewitnesses, visiting the scene of the crime, or collecting physical evidence. As a result, prosecutions are extremely rare, even in straightforward cases.
Moreover, it is exceedingly difficult for individuals in Chechnya to pursue protection of their rights on their own. The unstable security conditions, the lack of information on rights and on domestic or international remedies, the lack of qualified lawyers in the region, the poverty of the general population, and the lack of basic telecommunications services place almost insurmountable obstacles before those who would wish to do so.
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