Report dedicated to the next round of EU-Russia
consultations on human rights
April-October 2008
Terrorism represents a real threat in contemporary
Methods
of application of force which were chosen by the leadership and security
services of the
In the recent years
the level of military confrontation has significantly reduced. Armed units of
Chechen field commanders have suffered great losses, part of fighters took up
jobs at security services of the
Contemporary
legislation of the
Even having such enormous powers, the Russian
officials permanently and systematically violate norms of law prohibiting
illegal violence. Such practice is clearly supported by the highest authorities
of
Presently in the
This year the number of casualties among
Below you can
find the data obtained by way of summing up the available casualties data of
|
|
Total in three summer months of
2008 |
|
|
|
Killed |
Injured |
|
|
33 |
70 |
|
Ingushetia |
29 |
75 |
|
|
11 |
13 |
|
Kabardino-
Balkariya |
9 |
11 |
|
Total |
82 |
169 |
The summer 2007
number of casualties among Russian military officers and policemen serving in
the conflict zone was given as 61 killed and
132 wounded, while the summer 2006 figures were
83 killed and 210 wounded. This undoubtedly means that in 2008 the number of
fatal casualties has, sadly enough, reached the
same level as it was two years ago which was the period of high activity of Basayev
and Maskhadov. Special emphasis should also be given to the fact that the total
casualties figure in the small
This tendency
had already been mentioned in May by the Commander General of the United Task Forces in the North Caucasus Major General
N.I.Sivak. According to him, the number of casualties of
the United Task Forces had not dropped in
comparison to the first months of the previous years, on the contrary, a
certain rise had been registered.
The militants’ tactic was to avoid direct
collisions, instead they opted for ambush
attacks and mine detonations. Not being able to control any patch
of the territory for a long time, they chose to occupy individual villages for
a few hours accompanying their actions with various acts of intimidation –
arsons targeting mainly governmental buildings, households of police officers
and state authorities, violent attacks on and executions
of government officials. The period from April to October 2008, had seen 5 such
incidents of villages being occupied by the militants in
Representatives
of the Russian Ministries of Defense and of Interior claim that the
intensification of the militants’ activity in Ingushetia and Dagestan is
allegedly due to the militants having been ousted from
Since autumn
The rise in the number of terrorist
attacks committed against representatives of the state authorities in Ingushetia is the direct
consequence of the grave violations of human rights in the course of the fight against
terrorism. The arbitrariness of the security and military forces stirs up
indignation of the local people. The authorities
suppress all peaceful and legal protest actions. The opposition has been
deprived of any opportunity to address the society and the authorities using
legal democratic means.
This, in turn,
only contributes to the alienation of the society and the authorities, and strengthens the support base for the
armed underground. Citing the intensification of the militants’ activity as an
excuse, various security and military authorities and forces have deployed a
tremendous scale of uncontrolled activity in the region, often acting absolutely
independently of each other and without proper coordination of their
operations. This, in the end, plays into the hands
of the armed underground. It is usually impossible to understand who is moving
around in cars without number plates or keeping surveillance from such cars –
the security forces or actually the militants
themselves.
In August 2008 Memorial Human
Rights Center published a report "Ingushetia:
New Methods of Anti-Terror: A License to
Kill?". According to this report, a new tendency has emerged over the
last 18 months for the personnel of security and military services to eliminate
persons suspected of participation in illegal armed groups rather than detain
them during special operations theoretically aimed at detention of such persons.
In many cases eyewitnesses claim that the killed persons did not resist
detention, moreover the officers had not even made any attempt of detaining
them. In 2007 alone 26 persons suspected of participation in illegal armed
groups were killed that way. Only three of them were said to have offered some
kind of resistance to the law enforcement forces. In all the other cases we
have sufficient evidence to believe that the suspects were killed in an
imitation of fight. In the period from January till August 5, 2008, Memorial has information about 26 people
killed in Ingushetia, 12 of whom did not offer any resistance at the time of
their allegedly attempted detention, according to eyewitnesses. Not
infrequently representatives of security services plant the weapons to the
killed right in front of the witnesses.
The overwhelming majority of crimes (with a tiny and marginal exception)
committed by the representatives of the state authorities during counter-terror
operations in Ingushetia remain unpunished. Here are few examples of such
cases.
Not a single criminal case into the fact of abductions of civilians by
officers of the security and military structures has been investigated. Nobody
has been charged with criminal responsibility for the violations of the local
resident’s rights in the course of the so-called counter-terrorist operations,
for example, for the mass beatings of the residents of the
No criminal proceedings have been initiated into the fact of the
extrajudicial execution of Apti Dalakov in the town of
A criminal case was initiated
into the fact of the murder of the detained Murad Abdul-Kadyrovich Bogatyryov
on September 8, 2007 at the district police department of the city of
A criminal case has also been
opened into the fact of the murder of the 6-year-old Rakhim Amriev on November
9,
In these circumstances the sinister term of "civil war"
increasingly comes into use In his most frank interview to the Grani.Ru
television project, Magomed Khazbiev, one of the leaders of the legal Ingush
opposition gave his perspective of the situation: "Quite ordinary fellows
choose to go out at night and avenge their brothers by eliminating anyone
representative of security services whom they happen to come across".
In the Chechen Republic, despite the claims of the authorities that comprehensive stabilization
has been achieved, they are unable to fully suppress the armed underground. The
totalitarian system which has in practice been introduced in the republic has
met with a strong protest reaction of a significant part of the younger
generation.
The Commander General of the
United Task Forces in the North Caucasus Major General N.I.Sivak admitted in
his interview that "the number of militants hiding in the mountainous
regions of
On July 24 the President of the
Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov held a meeting with the heads of local
administration, the heads of the district police departments and the religious
leaders of the republic which was dedicated to the situation of the Chechen
youth. According to media reports, Kadyrov had among other things said: "It is not a secret that many of our
civil authorities and directors have kin ties to young men who have gone into
the woods. I know that they continue to maintain contact with them and even
supply them with food sometimes. I am warning you: should such young people not
be made to return home within 10 days from now, all chiefs and directors will
go on trial. I forbid you to bury those, who are waging a war on us. If I only
learn that someone from those in the woods
has been buried in any of the villages, no one will retain their
position, be they a police chief, a head of administration or an imam of any
mosque."
Possibly as a results of that meeting in early August the authorities of
Argun, the third largest city in
Another method of exerting pressure on relatives were arsons of the
houses of the families of the fighters. Memorial Human Rights Centre has
information about 17 cases of such arsons taking place during the summer of
2008.
Over a number of years abductions
and enforced disappearances ranked among the most widespread human rights
violations in the North Caucasus region (primarily, in Chechnya and, to a
lesser extent, in Ingushetia and Dagestan).
In 2007 the number of instances of such crimes dropped drastically.
However, since May 2008 Memorial has
recorded a new rise in the number of such cases in
Over the period from May to September 2006 we have registered 23 cases
of abductions. In most of cases there was serious evidence to suspect the
involvement of state agents in the abduction. Four of the abducted people were
found a few days later by their families in district police departments. By
that time, the policemen would had already managed to obtain “confessions” from
the people kept there resorting to illegal means and coercion. 11 of the
abducted people were subsequently released by their abductors. 8 of the
abducted people have disappeared without a trace.
Over the previous 5 months of 2008
Memorial has recorded 8 cases of abductions in
In Dagestan cases of abductions and torture of local residents were mainly linked to
the work of the Department for Combat of Organized Crime and the Department for
Combat of Extremism and Criminal Terrorism of the Dagestan Ministry of
Interior. In private conversations the officers of the above-mentioned agencies
do not even attempt to conceal that they are resolved to continue
"fighting terrorism" using illegal methods and violence as their
means.
If before June 2007 the majority of people abducted in
The practice of ‘temporary
disappearance’ of suspects is characteristic not only of Dagestan but of other
republics of the
As a rule the security services try to obtain confessions from a
“disappeared” person usually with
application of cruel beatings an torture. At this point defense lawyers are not
being provided to suspects or a ‘lawyer on duty’ is being appointed who does
not file complaints related to application of torture in respect of his
defendant, does not demand medical
assistance to his client if necessary or forensic examination in order to
document torture. At this point the relatives usually do not yet know about the
whereabouts of the detainee and they cannot hire him an independent lawyer.
Even in cases when the relatives do invite another lawyer, he is being denied
access to his client until all necessary documents are being signed by the
suspect. Documentation regarding the
date of detainment of such person are being backdated and oftentimes the
official date of detainment is several days after the actual date when
detainment took place.
Even if the lawyer knows that illegal methods have been applied to his
client, he oftentimes would not send appeals about cruel treatment, being
afraid for his or her own security. Very few individual lawyers dare to
confront this system, but their complaints are being turned down, and their
appeals to the Prosecutor General of the
Evidence provided under torture later becomes the main
evidence of the suspect’s guilt in court. Even if the case is being processed
by Jury trial, according to the Russian Criminal Procedural Code the issue of
unacceptability of evidence is decided in the absence of Jury (article 335 of
the Criminal Procedural Code RF). Judges prevent lawyers and the accused to
raise the issue of torture and evidence provided as a result of it in the
presence of Jury. Not knowing that the confessions have been provided under
torture the Jury has difficulty passing a fair judgement.
Such a system leaves little chances for fair
punishment of perpetrators and acquittal of innocent. Complaints sent by
lawyers to federal supervision authorities are being forwarded to the
republican supervision authorities, who cover violence and arbitrariness of
law-enforcement agencies and security services.
Since summer 2008 we observe a new dangerous tendency. People and organizations who speak openly
about human rights abuses in the
On August 3
On July
A criminal case was opened on
this fact, yet the criminals have not to date been identified.
On August 12, the Moscow Municipal Court definitively banned the
opposition website Ingushetiya.Ru on
the pretext of its publishing materials containing extremist views and appeals.
The site regularly published information on human rights violations in the
course of counter-terrorism operations in Ingushetia. The court has ordered all
Internet providers to block access to this website.
On August 13, 2008, near the office of the MASHR Human Rights
Organization in the town of
On August 31, the owner of the Ingushetiya.Ru website Magomed Yevloyev was detained by the
police at the airport of the city of
In
Newspapers quoting anonymous sources inside the law enforcement
services, claimed that this organization had links with the militants, and
provided deliberately false and misleading information about the members of the
organization.
Representatives of the state authorities and the security forces have
repeatedly attempted to intimidate the activists of this organization
threatening with initiation of criminal proceedings against them or their
relatives. The threats went beyond mere words. The family members and friends of some of the activists had become
victims of criminal prosecution. We know of cases of application of torture and
fabrication of criminal cases against such people. One of such cases has
already "fallen apart" and the defendant, Ilyas Dibirov, who was charged with participation in terrorist
activities, was acquitted by the Supreme Court of the
In summer 2008, the Chernovik newspaper came under
persecution for having repeatedly written about the unlawful methods of
anti-terrorist operations in
Over the period from April till October 9 the
Thus, the
In these decisions, ECHR has proclaimed
What measures are being taken by Russian authorities to implement the
ECHR decisions?
Applicants are given monetary compensations in time and in full.
Investigations into criminal cases are being reopened, but are being carried
out formally and drag on for no good reason.
None of the officials who were clearly involved in
perpetrating crimes have gone on trial. The whereabouts of people whose abduction by state agents
was recognized by the ECHR have not been established. No amendments to
normative acts outlining security services’ actions in areas of internal
conflicts (anti-terrorism legislation, charters of armed forces). Meanwhile,
the need for such changes results directly from some ECHR decisions.
Over
the past years some applicants have been subject to pressure from authorities
after they made their complaints; some were threatened and a few of them were
abducted or killed.
Recommendations:
Peace
and stability are inseparably linked to human rights issues. A clear
illustration of this obvious truth is the situation in the
Peace
and stability there (which also includes the respect for the inalienable human
rights) in the long-term perspective can be achieved only through political
reform that ensures the formation of the authorities in the subjects of the
Federation on the basis of the people's will. This political reform is not
possible without an end to the suppression of the opposition and the violation
of the freedom of speech.
Unreasonable
restrictions on holding rallies and demonstrations must be removed. An integral
part of such reform must also become a real fight against corruption.
However,
it is clear that such policies can be implemented only if there is a political
will in the Kremlin, and they should not be limited to the North Caucasus but
should address all regions of
Currently,
the Russian federal authorities lack this political will.
Therefore,
now we can talk about only the first and minimally necessary steps.
These
minimal steps should be measures aimed at ending the massive and systematic
violation of human rights by law enforcement agencies, especially the Ministry
of Interior and Federal Security Service of Russia, and removing climate of
impunity for crimes against civilians, which is still prevalent in the
Such
measures should include the following in particular:
·
Carrying out adequate
investigation into cases of human rights violations and bringing the
perpetrators to accountability.
·
Having the Prosecutor
General of the
·
Putting an end to the
widespread practice of “temporary disappearances” of detained persons. In order
to decrease the risk of torture as well to guarantee the legal rights of the
family members of the detained, it is essential to ensure that relatives of the
detained or arrested are speedily informed on their whereabouts.
·
Instructing members of
federal and local enforcement agencies and security services about the absolute
necessity of respecting and observing human rights within the framework of
their activities as well as about the accountability for following criminal
orders of superior instances and employees.
·
Ensuring the compliance of
the state counter-terrorism activities, both on the level of normative acts and
on the level of practices, to the international human rights standards and the
international humanitarian law, including the European Convention for Human
rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Geneva Conventions, and the Council of
Europe Guidelines on Human Rights and the Fight against Terrorism.
·
Providing adequate legal and
judicial protection and due compensation to victims of human rights violations.
·
Effectively guaranteeing
access to places of temporary and pre-trial detention for representatives of
international humanitarian organizations, including the ICRC, in order to visit
prisoners on conditions acceptable to those organizations.
·
Cooperating with the human rights
protection mechanisms and agencies of the Council of Europe and the United
Nations, including the special procedures of the UN Human Rights Commission and
the treaty bodies of the Council of Europe and the UN.
·
Effectively cooperating with
the Council of Europe Committee for Prevention of Torture.
·
Extending the necessary
assistance to Russian and international human rights organizations in their
human rights monitoring work in the