Human Rights Center "Memorial"

СHECHNYA: PEOPLE DISAPPEAR NO COURT HEARINGS PRIOR TO EXECUTIONS

Bodies are still being found in Chechnya, the bodies of the people who had been detained by the military forces. Thus, on the 15th of June in the region of the village of Starye Atagi quite incidentally there were discovered four bodies of the people, who had lived in Atagi and had atrociously been killed after they had been detained and carried away from the territory of Starye Atagi by a big group of the military men.

People have still been "disappearing" in Chechnya, those people who have been detained by the Federal troops or the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior. Early in the morning on the 11th of June a group of the military men came into the house 165 in Kirov Street of Grozny and took the host away with them to the unknown direction. The relatives of the kidnapped person could find out of his fate nowhere.

Even when the people are detained by the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, who identify themselves, the relatives of the detained persons cannot find out their fates within weeks or even months. In those rare cases when the people can afford an advocate, the latter cannot render his services of legal protection of the detained and arrested person within a long period of time.

On the 25th of June a few kilometers away from the village of Starye Atagi behind the poultry factory the bodies of the following persons were found near the road, leading to the village of Goity: Giriev Arbi Uvaisovich, born in 1968; Giriev Said-Emin Uvaisovich, born in 1963; Giriev Said-Hussein Uvaisovich, born in 1963; Sugaipov Musy Musaevich. All those four citizens of the village of Starye Atagi were captured by the Federal troops at the territory of the village on the 27th of January 2000.

In the second half of January the village of Starye Atagi was under the control of the Federal troops. Several regiments were dislocated in the village, including the premises of the former poultry factory - far away from the village - near the road leading to the village of Goity. There had been and were no Chechen fighters at the territory of the village or nearby.

On the 27th of January a big group of military men entered the village in a few cars under the convoy of an armored vehicle. On the verge of the village they captured three Giriev brothers and their neighbor Sugaipov and took them to the unknown whereabouts. The military men also took the Volvo car belonging to Sugaipov with them. As usual, the military men did not identify themselves and did not inform them of the number of their regiment or even the troops they belong to.

Within four and a half months the relatives of Giriev brothers and M. Sugaipov could not find any traces of the kidnapped relatives. The commander of the regiment dislocated at the territory of the village of Starye Atagi just informed them of the fact, that those people did not belong to his regiment, and that they had left in the direction of the village of Goity. Neither the departments of the Ministry of the Interior, nor those of the Federal Security Service, nor the President's Special Human Rights Envoy in Chechen Republic could say anything of the whereabouts of the kidnapped people. Their official search has been announced.

In March the passenger car, belonging to the Girievs and taken away by the military men on the 27th of January, was discovered at the territory of Ingushetia.

The owners of the car told the officials that they had bought it from the military men unknown to them.

On the 15th of June a shepherd incidentally discovered the sepulcher that had been dug out by his dog. It was not far from the place of the previous dislocation of the Russian troops. As the relatives informed Mr. Oleg Orlov and Mrs. Elisa Mussaeva, the representatives of Human Rights Center "Memorial", who visited the village of Starye Atagi, the bodies had the marks of torture and forced death. All the four had their hands broken, their knees injured, their ribs broken. The hands were tied up with a steel rope behind their backs. All the four were killed with a shot in the head. It looked as though Giriev Said Hussein was suffocated with his own scarf.

One has to note, that the Head of the Administration and the Chairman of the Board of the Fathers in his Appeal to the Officials of the Chechen Republic asking to organize a search of those people, informed the officials, that Arbi Giriev had been very active in the fight against Vakhabits and Vakhabism.

It is far from the first case of the kind. The Human Rights Center "Memorial" has already informed of the bodies found, the bodies of the people who had been detained at the check point near the village of Duba-Yurt, in the process of the "cleaning up" procedure of the village of Shaami-Urt and others.

On the 11th of June at 5.30 a group of the military men in two cars approached the House 165 in Kirov Street in Grozny. At that time the host Zuziev Rashid Abdullkhamidovich (born in 1953) and his 85 - year old mother were at home. The military men, who came in, made R. Zuziev lie on the ground and searched the house. For the reason unknown a smoke grenade was thrown to the back yard. At least one of the military men was armored with an automatic gun having a silencer, since no neighbors heard the shots with the help of which the lock to the adjoining house was broken.

Though the military men had not found anything suspicious they took the host away with them. Zuziev's mother and the neighbor witnessed the detention (or rather kidnapping).

The relatives informed Mr. Oleg Orlov and Mrs. Elisa Mussaeva, the representatives of Human Rights Center "Memorial" of the event. In their interpretation, they and Zuzaievs' neighbor informed the Commandant's Office of the Octiabrsky District of Grozny of the event in the morning of the 11th of June. The Commandant Mr. Kozlov told them that he knew nothing of the fact, but promised to find the detained person very soon and asked them not to worry. In two days the relatives turned to the City Procurator's Office. The Deputy Prosecutor started the search. However, he informed the relatives that he could not find the detained person neither in the Commandant's Office, nor in the preliminary investigation cell. However, as Zuziev' relatives inform our representatives, the relations between the Deputy Prosecutor and the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior are far from being simple. Up till now Zuziev's relatives are unaware of his fate.

One has to note, that as far back as February 5 three people, leaving in this street were detained and taken away in the process of the so called "clearing up" operation:

Gabanchaev Mohammed Shirvanievich, born in 1949; Jamaldaev Zelimkhan Khazmatovich, born in 1971 (205, Kirov Street); Assuev Rustam Supianovich born in 1975 (205a, Kirov Street).

At the same time Jacub Alamatovich Iznuraev, born in 1966, was detained in the House 17 in 3rd By-street adjacent to Kirov Street. He was permanently registered in Kalmykia, but at the beginning of the military actions he came on a visit to his elderly mother, who did not want to leave her house and her cow. One could suppose that the Kalmyk registration might be the reason for Iznuraev's detention, if not for three more persons, who were registered in Grozny, had not been detained together with him.

There are many witnesses to this event - relatives and neighbors of the detained people. They saw, how the hands of the detained people were tied up with a steel rope behind their backs and how their caps were pulled down their faces, how they were made to kneel down on the tram way, and all those actions were taken with a video camera.

Anyway, some of the people, participating in the "the clearing up" operations identified themselves as the personnel of Saint Petersburg OMON. Their behavior was quite a decent one. They asked the relatives not to worry about the detained people, They explained to them, that all the detained people would go either to the assembly point at the village of Staraya Sunzha or to the military base in Khankaly. After they are checked up, those who have not taken part in the military actions, will be released.

None the less, the representatives of the Ministry of the Interior refused to give any information to the relatives, who came to the village of Staraya Sunzha, and they were denied the entry to the territory of the military base as the civilians.

Since that time nothing is known of the fate of the people detained on the 5th of February.

The personnel of the Procurator's Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service, the President's Special Human Rights Envoy in the Chechen Republic could say only "that those people were not in the list of those detained in the preliminary investigation cells".

There is yet no reply to the appeal of the Human Rights Center "Memorial" to the General Procurator's Office as to the criminal investigation procedure in connection with the kidnapping of the people in several cases, including the case of Ya. Iznuraev. Though the legal term set to check up the facts has long passed.

On the 17th of May at 11 a.m. the former Minister of Justice of the Chechen Republic Mr. Vakha Murtazaliev was detained in the center of the village of Urus-Martan by the people, who identified themselves as officers of the criminal investigation department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic.

One has to note, that Mr. V. Murtazaliev was released from his post prior to the beginning of the military actions in Chechnya. Besides, he had already been detained by the officers of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic and released as not guilty.

At this time the officers of the Ministry of the Interior of the Chechen Republic as well as those of the Procurator's Office refused to explain to V. Murtazaliev's relatives the reason for his detention, moreover they refused to confirm the fact of his detention and to disclose the place of his detention.

In order to render him the legal protection V. Murtazaliev's relatives concluded a contract with Advocate L. Temirgaeva, a member of the College of Chechen Advocates. The answer to her address to the Chechen Procurator's Office was that V. Murtazaliev's case was handed over to the Northern Caucasus Regional Procurator's Office in Mozdock and that she has to address there to. However, she was informed there that there was no such case in their investigation. In the meantime the TV showed the interview of V. Murtazaliev who was in prison.

Up to the 14th of June neither V. Murtazaliev's relatives, nor his advocate could find out nothing of his fate. As a result he could use the services of an advocate and his right to the legal protection was infringed.

On the 14th of June in the village of Znamenskoye in the process of the meeting at the Representation of the President's Special Human Rights Envoy at the territory of the Chechen Republic, where Mr. V.P. Kravchenko, the Procurator General of the Chechen Republic was also present, the representatives of the Human Rights Center "Memorial" and Mr. Ya.U. Abdullkadyrov, the Chairman of the College of Chechen Advocates, raised the issue of the grave infringement of the norms of the procedure in respect of the arrested Murtazaliev. The Procurator Kravchenko denied the facts of the "disappearance" of the people detained and arrested at the territory of the Chechen Republic, Mr. Murtazaliev including. He declared that the people, who had identified themselves as the personnel of the criminal investigation department, might have been disguised participants of the band formations. And only after Mr. Abdullkadyrov mentioned the fact of the Central TV interview of Mr. Murtazaliev, Mr. Kravchenko remembered that it was he, who had arrested Mr. Murtazaliev, and said that the latter was a criminal.

In the Procurator's General words Mr. Murtazaliev is in the town of Gudermes. He did not mention the reason for such a grave infringement of the norms of the Russian Law. There is one hope still left, that now the advocate will be allowed to visit the arrested person.

The Human Rights Center "Memorial" draws attention to the fact, that Mr. Murtazaliev is a well known person in Chechnya, his fate is of interest to many people, his family can afford to invite an advocate. The major detained and arrested people there in Chechnya are in a much worse situation.

One has to state, that the lawlessness of the most arrested and detained people in Chechnya is aggravated by the fact, that their relatives cannot find out the reason for their detention or arrest, the place of their detention, whether the person has already been accused or not, etc. for a long period of time. In fact the people "disappear" for long.

Sometimes the people are detained on the roads, at check points, far away from their homes or the places of their permanent stay or their relatives' places of stay. When the relatives come to the places, where their relatives have been detained, the military men or the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior, who had detained their relatives have long ago left that place. And the military men or the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior, who are in their place, do not know anything of the fate of those arrested or detained.

When the arrested people are moved from the preliminary investigation cells to the places, where they will be permanently detained, the personnel of the Ministry of the Interior does not inform the relatives of the place of the imprisonment.

The Human Rights Center "Memorial" sent circular letters disclosing this vicious and lawless practice to the Russian Federation Procurator's General Office, to the President's Special Human Rights Envoy at the territory of the Chechen Republic.

Up till now there were no answers in essence from either of the official bodies to the put questions.

The administration of the President's Special Human Rights sand Freedoms Envoy at the territory of the Chechen Republic believe, that the fact of obtaining a list of those detained and imprisoned in the preliminary investigation cells in the Chechen Republic from the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation an essential step forward in the matter of protecting human rights in the Chechen Republic. As a result the "Memorial", other human rights protection organizations, individuals may find out at the request, whether a person is in one or the other preliminary investigation cell. However, firstly, those lists are rarely renewed, and hence they are often absolute. Secondly, there is no information of those who are not yet transferred to preliminary investigation cells and hence, who in the most danger, who are at a greater risk of being tortured, beaten up or even killed.