Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
Monday, March 18
Chechen field commander Salman Raduyev filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation against his life sentence, which was passed by the Supreme Court of Dagestan on December 25, 2001 after five-week proceedings, in which Raduyev faced charges of terrorism, banditry, hostage-taking, organization of murders and illegal armed formations.
Tuesday, March 19
Lieutenant-General General Vladimir Moltenskoi, who commands the combined Russian forces in Chechnya, said his subordinates collected evidence that the meeting in front of the building of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration in Grozny on March 13, during which several dozen residents from Starye Atagi put on display burnt corpses, was organised to order and that the organisers have been identified.
Wednesday, March 20
The Joint Working Group on Chechnya of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Russian State Duma held in Moscow its eighth meeting. Subsequently PACE delegation head Lord Frank Judd said in an interview with "Ekho Moskvy" that peace talks without Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov are pointless.
Thursday, March 21
Chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin arrived in Grozny at the end of a seven-day inspection of last year's use of funds from the federal budget and off-budget funds earmarked for Chechnya's reconstruction.
Representatives of the Russian state and NGOs held in Moscow their third meeting on Chechnya. Representatives of NGOs said that their proposals made already during the first meeting on January 12 in Znamenskoye, to which Russian officials agreed, failed to be put in practice.
The Russian military started a large-scale mopping-up operation in Grozny, during which dozens of persons were detained.
Friday, March 22
Seminar "Chechnya between Europe and Russia" with prominent representatives of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and experts on Chechnya took place in Paris between March 22-25. The participants in the seminar talked on solutions to terminate the war in Chechnya and prosecution of persons responsible for war crimes in Chechnya.
Corpses of three Chechen boys aged 8-13, who had been shot dead, were found in a mass grave near the Chervlyonnaya settlement on the administrative border between the Shelkovskoi and Naursky districts.
Saturday, March 23
Chief of Russian interior ministry forces Vyacheslav Tikhomirov confirmed earlier speculations that the Russian military helicopter Mi-8 carrying senior police officials, which crashed near Shelkovskaya on January 27, was shot down by Chechen fighters.
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