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HR news |
FROM THE CONFLICT ZONE
Bulletin of HRC "Memorial"
January 2006
Europe is Preparing for Peacekeeping,
Forgetting about Mass Human Rights Abuse?
In the end of January 2006 in the northern regions of Sweden joint military trainings are taking place of the 19th regiment of armed forces of Sweden and the 138th motor-rifle brigade of the Russian Federation. In 1999-2000 the motor-rifle brigade participated in the military actions in the Chechen Republic and it shows up in cases of grave human rights crimes: enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions, mass fatalities among the civilian population as a result of aerial attacks on a settlement.
Such grave crimes against civilians committed in the course of armed conflict usually remain unpunished. European institutions, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and European Union, in their resolutions have repeatedly emphasized those facts as well as the necessity to address impunity.
Human Rights Center "Memorial" states that international cooperation with security services of the Russian Federation, including international military cooperation, should likewise be conducive to overcoming impunity in respect of war crimes and crimes against humanity. At least, the states and the public of the countries which participate in such cooperation with Russia should be informed about the possible involvement of certain security agencies and commanders in crimes.
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138th motor-rifle brigade is based in the village of Kamenka, Leningrad Oblast. It was founded in 1998 on the basis of the 45-th motor-rifle division. During the second Chechen campaign starting from autumn 1999 the units of this brigade were part of the "Zapad" group of the federal troops under command of General Shamanov. In December 1999 the brigade was based at the outskirts of Urus-Martan, in the proximity of the village of Starye Atagi. In early February 2000 parts of the brigade participated in armed actions near the village of Katar-Yurt. In February-March 2000 the brigade passed through the territory of Ingushetia from the village of Starye Atagi through the mountains to the regional center of Itum-Kale.
The brigade participated in the peacemaking efforts in Transdnestria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. Currently is fully manned by contracted workers. Between the wars the brigade was commanded by the General-Major Mikhail Malofeev, who was killed in 1999 during the storming of Grozny, and the second Chechen war-General-Major Igor Turchenouk.
Subsequently, in 2000, according to "Komsomolskaya Pravda" (# 11 July 2003 article "Impune" Generals), criminal charges were brought against General Major I. Turchenouk (commander of a division, Leningrad Military Okrug, Vyborg), according to article 285 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("exceeding professional authority"); the basis of the criminal prosecution remains unknown. The criminal case was closed with the ruling "change of the conditions". In 2001 he studied in the Academy of the General Staff Headquarters. In 2005 on the order of Sergey Ivanov General-Major Turchenouk was appointed the Chair of the State Attestation Commission of the Far-Eastern High Command College and examined the students of the college.
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There is solid ground to suspect the military servicemen of 138th motor-rifle brigade of committing torture and summary executions.
On September 13 2000 in the neighborhood of the village of Starye Atagi, Groznensky (Selsky) district of the Chechen Republic were found several mass graves where there were bodies of the people, who had been previously detained by the Russian military servicemen or personnel of federal security forces, and subsequently "disappeared".
In one of the graves were found the remains of three men- Imran Kuntaev, born in 1964, Adam Sadaev, 1974, Adnan Abdurzakov, 1969. In the fall of 1999, Kuntaev, originally the resident of Starye Atagi, Sadaev, the resident of Assinovskaja village, Abdurzakov, the resident of Grozny, temporarily remained in Starye Atagi in the capacity of internally displaced. On December 1999, Kuntaev, Sadaev and Abdurzakov went to the village of Goyty by car YAZ- 2106 of dark blue color with registration numbers 06 59 63/rus, but at the first checkpoint they were detained by the military servicemen after which they went missing. All of the corpses found in the collective grave had blackfolded eyes, wrists were tied with wire and ropes; they had bullet apertures in their heads: one had a wound above the left ear, the other two in the occiput.
An investigator of the prosecutor's office, a forensic expert, who were present during the examination of the grave came to the conclusion that these were the results of 'control shots' in the head. The Prosecution instigated a criminal case into the fact of violent death # 18033, furthermore the investigation was suspended with the ruling "impossible to identify perpetrators".
Soon after the 'disappearance' of Kuntaev, Sadaev, Abdurzakov were identified the security agencies, which were possibly responsible for this crime, among them 138th motor-rifle brigade (for details see chapter 6 of 'Memorial' book " The Counter-Terrorist Operation").
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There is sufficient evidence to suspect participation of the military servicemen of the 138th brigade in another episode linked to torture and summary executions.
On June 14, 2000 in 1, 5-2 kilometers from the village of Starye Atagi, in the area where the 138th motor-brigade used to be based was found a grave, where were found the corpses of three brothers Gireev and Musa Sugaipov. All of them had their hands crashed, knees capped, ribs broken, hands tied behind their backs. All the four of them were killed with shots in the heads. These men were all detained on January 27 2000 and driven in the unknown direction by military servicemen. The witnesses saw, however, that a car of one of them with two military servicemen in masks drove in the direction of the village of Goyty to the base of 138th brigade. The Prosecutor's office instigated a criminal case ¹ 18016 into murder, which was later suspended with the ruling "impossible to identify perpetrators" (for details see chapter 6 of "Memorial" book "Counter-Terrorist Operation").
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The units of 138th motor-rifle brigade participated in the fights in the area of the village of Katar-Yurt in early February 2000. Then the commandment of the federal troops intentionally allowed for the access of units of Chechen fighters into this settlement which was subsequently subjected to mass attacks of artillery and aviation. The civilian population was not evacuated, which caused mass fatalities among civilians.
By the end of January 2000 several thousand Chechen combatants were blocked by the Russian troops in Grozny. Although during several moths of aerial attacks and bombing the city was virtually fully destroyed, the federal authorities still had to fight their way through these ruins. According to the commanders of armed units in Chechnya generals Kazantsev and Shamanov, in the end of January 2000 was carried out a secret operation to lure the Chechen units out of Grozny. Allegedly the Chechen field commanders were leaked the information that they could buy a "safe corridor" for exiting Grozny into the mountains from the Russian military servicemen. The Chechen fighters allegedly paid for the corridor. On the way, according to the generals, the combatants discovered that their corridor was land mined, moreover, artillery and aviation subjected to fire their groups all the way out of Grozny.
The corridor went through several settlements. As the fighters were entering these villages they were being blocked there and together with civilians showered by artillery fire and aviation. The civilians were not provided with safe corridors for evacuation. The Chechen units suffered mass fatalities; however, the majority of them retreated into the mountains. The fatalities among the civilians were much greater, however.
This way the events developed in the village of Katar-Yurt, which right before the above described events had been announced by the Russian military servicemen a "save zone". Due to this, on top of the permanent residents lots of internally displaced people resided in Katyr-Yurt.
According to the plan of the military commandment, the village was blocked leaving the Northern outskirts open for the Chechen fighters to enter. Once the combatants had entered the circle was closed. After that the village was subjected to bombing and shelling as a result tens (according to the official version) or hundreds (according to the human rights groups) civilians were killed. These events were the subject of investigation by European Court for Human Rights. The court passed a verdict, according to which the Russian Federation was found guilty. The court decided that the military operation was implemented in a way that it would inevitably lead to civilian death. No one of the military servicemen was punished.
The participation of 138th motor-rifle brigade in the blocking of Katar-yurt and aerial attack was proved by the materials of the criminal case, which was investigated by the military prosecution.
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Currently this unit of the 138th brigade participates in the Russian-Swedish military trainings on the territory of Sweden. The minister of defense of the Russian Federation calls them "trainings on combat of terror". Swedish parliament calls them "peacekeeping trainings".
138th military-rifle brigade participated in the operations, where no measures were taken to protect the civilian population. Moreover, there is evidence which gives grounds to suspect their participation in such crimes as kidnappings of people, torture, summary executions. These crimes have not been investigated in the last six years and the perpetrators, their commanders and generals were not punished.
It would be desirable that while planning such operations the specific "Chechen experience" of individual security structures invited for participation is taken into consideration. We are convinced that such cooperation with units and commanders from security agencies, which committed crimes against civilians, war crimes and crimes against humanity, is unacceptable.
