News

On February 27, 2006, the Supreme Court of the Republic of Ingushetia held the last sitting of the jury on the case of Muslim Lechievich Gutseriev, born in 1982, a resident of the Chechen Republic, who was accused under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Banditism"). Having heard the defendant's last plea, the jurymen retired for consultation and then passed their verdict: Muslim Gutseriev should be acquitted for absence of proofs of his guilt. Gutseriev was set free right in the courtroom.

Last week, Alvaro Gil-Robles, head of the Office of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, and his future successor Thomas Hammarberg finished their visit to Chechnya. In Grozny, they had meetings with Chechen leadership and local MPs, and visited the State University and investigatory isolation facility (SIZO) "Chernokozovo".

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has postponed consideration of the claim of "Rosregistratsia" (Federal Registration Service) demanding liquidation of the Russian Human Rights Research Centre (RHRRC), because of the claimant's failure to appear at the courtroom. "The court has postponed consideration of the claim of 'Rosregistratsia' on liquidation of the Centre till April 10 for absence of the claimants," Lyubov Vinogradova, director of the RHRRC, said on Monday.

The Danish Board on Refugees' Matters can resume its operation in Chechnya within the nearest two-three days. This was stated to journalists in Grozny by Ramzan Kadyrov, acting prime-minister of the Chechen Republic, after his meeting with Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights.

Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, has called Chechen militants to lay down arms. He made this statement in Grozny after meeting President of Chechnya Alu Alkhanov, the "Echo Moskvy" Radio reports.

The problem of mass infection of children with unknown disease in Shelkovskoy District of Chechnya gets to the level of the Council of Europe. Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, told the "Interfax" on Saturday evening that he "plans to raise the point at a high level."

The Prosecutor's Office of the Marneul District of Georgia has opened criminal cases against all the sixteen Azerbaijanis detained on February 22 in the village of Damya Gorarkhy.

Today in the evening, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., opponents of war in Chechnya held a picket in the Pushkin Square in Moscow dated to the 62nd anniversary of deportation under Stalin's order in 1944 of Chechen and Ingush nationals to Middle Asia. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Dmitry Brodsky, one of the organizers of the action, that about 40 persons took part in the action.

At today's meeting with Louise Arbur, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia is concerned of violations of human rights in Chechnya. As the President's press service reports that the agenda of the meeting included many "painful Russian issues", including the situation in Chechnya. "Russia is worried, not less that its foreign partners, with human rights violations in Chechnya, but those who put an equality sign between terrorists and Russian militaries are not right," said Russian leader in his talk with Ms Arbur.

Abdurakhim Magomedov, a resident of the Khasavyurt District of Dagestan, who is co-chairman of the human rights organization "Civil Alternative", detained last October, is accused of complicity to militants. This was reported by a source of the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent in law enforcement bodies of Chechnya. According to the source, a criminal case was initiated against Mr Magomedov.

"Decrease of intensity of disappearances is a result of decrease of the intensity of the conflict in Chechnya," Louise Arbur, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on February 22 after her meeting with Dmitry Kozak, plenipotentiary representative of the RF President in South Federal District (SFD), at a press conference in the city of Mineralnye Vody, Stavropol Territory, the correspondent of the IA REGNUM reports.

"We've managed to meet the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbur, although with certain difficulties. Nobody had warned us that early in the morning she would be at school. Although representatives of "Beslan Mothers" were with her, nobody had warned us about her arrival," Ella Kesaeva, co-chairman of the "Voice of Beslan" Committee, has told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "Therefore, we went to the building of the government, where Arbur had a meeting with the leader of the Republic. The securities have recognized us, probably, they were afraid of scandal and let us in. However, they told us that we should have just a couple of minutes."

The Moslem community of the city of Pyatigorsk (Stavropol Territory) is puzzled with the arrest and extortion charges of the Imam of the mosque of Pyatigorsk.

It has become known to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from informal sources that employees of law-enforcement bodies of Kabardino-Balkaria are making new lists of Wahhabites. For this purpose they visit educational institutions of the Republic and write down every pupil or student who is practising namaz. Thus, for example, yesterday from the Kabardino-Balkarian trading-technological lyceum a pupil was brought to the OVD (militia station) No. 2 of Nalchik who made namaz right in the class during a break. He was put down on the list.

As of today, the whereabouts of two residents of Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, brothers Adam and Umar Dautovs, who are 15 years old, is still unknown. The teenagers disappeared on January 28, 2006, states the press release of the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship that has arrived to the "Caucasian Knot" editorial board.

A private of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment for beating his comrade soldier.

The appointed for today at the Khasavyurt City Court of Dagestan consideration of the criminal case of human rights activist Osman Boliev, accused of illegal purchase, storage and bearing of weapons, has not taken place because of the disease of the defendant, Boliev himself called up the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent from the therapeutic ward of the Khasavyurt City Hospital, where he was placed late last week with complaints on cardiac, head and backbone pains and general weakness.

The "Echo Moskvy" Radio reports that the advocate of the mothers of film director Sergey Bodrov and actor Timofey Nosik who perished at a gletcher landslide in Karmadon Gorge in North Ossetia, has filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.

Participation in training seminars on judicial defence, organized by the Regional Public Movement "Chechen Committee for National Salvation" (ChCNS) has helped local lawyers in preparation and subsequent submission of more than 10 "Chechen cases" to the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbur was struck by the disastrous state of forced migrants from Chechnya and North Ossetia who are now sheltered by Ingushetia. The situation with temporary refugees was the central topic of Ms Arbur's meeting with President of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov in the city of Magas. "Despite all the efforts obviously undertaken by the Republic and international organizations, these people live in extremely disastrous conditions. It is also obvious that they've been living in these conditions for a very long time already," the High Commissioner has added.