MEDICAL GROUP RELEASES FINAL DATA ON RUSSIAN ATTROCITIES IN CHECHNYAJune 2, 2000 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Nathaniel Raymond -(617) 695-0041 ext 220 (o) or
(617) 623-4249(home)(nraymond@phrusa.org)
Barbara Ayotte (617) 695-0041 ext 210 (o)
(617) 536-1069(home)(bayotte@phrusa.org) On Eve of Clinton/Putin Summit: MEDICAL GROUP RELEASES FINAL DATA ON
RUSSIAN ATROCITIES IN CHECHNYA; CALLS ON CLINTON TO TAKE STAND ON WAR CRIMES The final tally of a random survey of 1,143 persons displaced from Chechnya, conducted by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in March 2000, reveals extensive evidence of war crimes committed by Russia's federal forces in Chechnya. An estimated 4,600 killings of civilians by Russia's federal forces have occurred since August 1999 if the findings are extrapolated to the entire displaced population in Ingushetia. No respondent to this survey witnessed a killing of a civilian by fighters from the Chechen side. Killings included intentional executions of civilians in their front yards, targeting of refugee columns, and indiscriminate and disproportionate bombing of population centers. "The United States has not called these crimes by their proper name:war crimes. Nor has it demanded that steps be taken by the Russian government to assure investigation and accountability for these acts. President Clinton must demand that President Putin allow international human rights monitors access to Chechnya so that these crimes do not continue," said Leonard Rubenstein, PHR Executive Director. PHR, along with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Coalition for International Justice, and the International League for Human Rights, will deliver a letter to President Clinton on Friday demanding that the US call for thorough and impartial investigation into crimes committed in Chechnya. SURVEY FINDINGS
Killings
Respondents of the random PHR survey, completed in Ingushetia in March, witnessed 197 killings by Russia's federal forces among members of their households. PHR randomly selected the 1,143 respondents from a database that contained 186,100 people
displaced from Chechnya to Ingushetia as of the last week of February. The manner in which the sample was collected permits extrapolation to the entire population. The 1,143 respondents had 7,807 members in their household. By applying this ratio (197/7,807) to the total population displaced from Chechnya into Ingushetia (186,100), PHR extrapolates that Russia's federal forces killed an estimated 4,600 civilians since August 1999. Noting whether they saw the act of killing (such as a combatant shooting someone) or if they saw the dead body of someone they knew had been in custody of a combatant, respondents reported only killings they witnessed firsthand. Of the 197 killings, respondents saw Russia's federal forces actually kill 75 civilians and in 122 other incidents they saw the dead bodies. Another indication of the severe trauma experienced by civilians in Chechnya is that forty-six percent of the displaced persons surveyed (517 individuals of the 1143 respondents)witnessed at least one killing of a civilian by Russia's federal forces. Using these figures, PHR extrapolates that an estimated 84,000 (of the 186,000 displaced) people have personally witnessed civilian killings by Russia's federal forces. A total of 332 respondents witnessed multiple killings (more than one) by Russia's federal forces. This suggests that an estimated 54,055 (of the 186,000 displaced) witnessed Russian's federal forces killing multiple civilians. Torture
Witnesses gave PHR several different types of testimony that reveal the widespread nature of Russia's torture of civilians from Chechnya. Survey respondents witnessed 77 incidents of torture among their household members. Applying this ratio (77/7807) to the 186,100 displaced persons suggests that Russia's federal forces inflicted an estimated 1,800 incidents of torture on these people. In addition, testimonies from nine torture survivors collected by PHR revealed the gruesome torture practices of Russia's federal authorities, including electric shock and gassing. A PHR physician examined one young man three days after his release from a so-called filtration camp, with a broken nose, hematoma on third and fourth ribs, tenderness in the kidney region and swelling of soles of his feet all consistent with the blunt trauma torture he described. In the PHR survey, torture included beating victims into unconsciousness, kicking, gassing,
and electric shock and sustained beatings of more than ten minutes. Since there is no effective independent investigation or monitoring occurring, and because Russia's promised internal investigations have proved to be nothing but window-dressing, PHR believes the widespread torture of civilians from Chechnya continues. Only two respondents witnessed torture by fighters from the
Chechen side. Forced Flight
Indisputably, displaced persons blame their flight on Russia's
federal forces, despite repeated federal assurances that civilians are not targets. 1,121 of 1,143 respondents, more than 98 percent of PHR's survey sample, said Russia's federal forces caused them to flee to Ingushetia. Of these people, 857 blamed Russia's bombing for their flight. Only 3 people reported fleeing because of fighters from the Chechen side. Violations of Medical Neutrality
Both sides in the conflict violated medical neutrality (attacks on hospitals, clinics, harassment of physicians and patients), but the greater volume of abuses came from the Russian federal forces bombing of medical facilities. 362 (32%) of the 1,143 interviewed by PHR witnessed destruction of medical facilities by Federal forces. 100% of these incidents were attributed to Russian federal forces. These reports indicate that at least 20 different medical facilities were damaged by Russia's federal forces. KILLINGS AT ALDI AND KATR-YURT Besides gathering data, PHR collected extensive testimony describing some of the worst atrocities that occurred in the conflict so far, notably the killings in the villages of Aldi and Katr Yurt. A full report to be released shortly will cite the gruesome details of the behavior of Russian troops as they went on several rampages According to those interviewed by PHR, people witnessed Russia's federal forces kill and brutalize civilians in a variety of circumstances, including the burning of corpses and dragging of corpses by wire tied to the ankles. On January 1, 2000, a 48-year-old female service worker from the Staropromyslovskii region of Grozny saw the charred remains of a man, a woman, a boy and two women, all allegedly burned by Russia's federal forces. One of the most brutal "cleaning up" operations conducted by Russia's federal forces that was described to PHR by eyewitnesses took place on February 5, 2000 in Aldi, a community in the Zavodsky district of Grozny. This incident highlights several violations of international law by Russia's federal forces, notably the forced flight and execution of civilians, and destruction of homes and civilian property. Although a definitive death toll continues to be compiled by residents, the four first hand witnesses PHR interviewed reported death tolls in excess of 80 people. Russian soldiers went systematically from house to house on at least three of the main streets of Aldi (Voronezhskaya, Matasha Mataeva, and Zemlyanskaya). The troops checked the documents of residents and searched houses. One of the groups of soldiers went on a rampage, executing civilians, looting and their burning homes. PHR also documented Russian federal forces' artillery and air barrage of Katr Yurt from February 4-8, that resulted in killing of civilians and pinning others in their cellars,unable to flee. L.Z., interviewed by PHR, described the village after the bombardment, "What happened to the village after the fighters left is impossible to see now, more than that, one lacks the words to describe the picture. I saw burned corpses lying on the sides of the road, and exploded and burned down houses [lining] the roads. [There were] carcasses of burned cars, killed cattle, people buried in the basements of houses, people exhausted without food and water in the basements Épeople looking for their relatives among the burned dead bodies, fresh dug graves." While subsequent reports indicate fighters from the Chechen side remained in the village possibly until February 6, the testimonies demonstrate Russia's federal forces' grossly disproportionate rampage that resulted in the killing of many civilians and the destruction of much of the housing in the town. As she was fleeing Katr-Yurt with her family, HL saw a bomb fall on a car full of people, killing them. When she returned nine days later, she saw Russia's Federal soldiers dragging bodies bound by wire at their feet to burial. She went to pay condolences to four families who had lost loved ones in the bombing. HL reported that her sister said one family died when a bomb hit their house, and the three sons, parents and three relatives died with their hands cupped under their chins, their faces frozen in terror
YL saw many bodies on the sides of the road, when, after two nights of bombing, she fled from their basement with her five children, husband and other extended family. She and her children saw their uncle (her mother-in-law's brother) "exploded into meat." When she returned after the barrage was over, she described vividly the process of the Russian troops collecting the bodies: "Soldiers made a mound of peopleÉ on the ground. It was gruesomeÉ I saw [women] lying like rubbish in piles. Tanks and other vehicles dragged around bodies tied with wire. It was difficult to recognize individuals among the bodies." US POLICY/RECOMMENDATIONS The Clinton Administration's lack of a response to these documented war crimes in Chechnya has allowed Russia's federal forces to continue to act with impunity. The Administration has failed to describe the behavior of the Russian troops as a war crime and it has not promoted or supported the formation of an external commission of inquiry to investigate Russia's crimes in Chechnya. President Clinton at this summit should identify Russian war crimes for what they are, and President Putin must be told unequivocally that they must cease. Russia's federal government has thwarted nearly every international effort to gain access to Chechnya, whether to investigate abuses or provide care to the wounded. The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), and Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights, have been given either limited access to the region
or have been prevented from entering altogether. Clinton should
use the opportunity of this summit to insure that Putin's obstruction of
international aid and observers ends. Physicians for Human Rights respectfully recommends that the US government take the following actions this weekend in Moscow: Demand that Russia stop inflicting countless abuses against civilians in Chechnya, including the killing of innocent civilians and the arbitrary detention and torture of non-combatants. Demand access for international investigators and monitors into Chechnya itself and the detention facilities in the surrounding region. Publicly identify and condemn Russian violations in Chechnya for what they are: war crimes. Invigorate the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Monitoring Mission: The Russian authorities permitted the OSCE to monitor abuses in Chechnya during the 1996 war and at the Istanbul OSCE Summit pledged to continue this initiative. Yet Russia has not yet permitted the OSCE's six monitors currently in Moscow to visit the region. The U.S. should publicly demand that Russia permit the monitoring mission to go forward, and take steps to expand it substantially. Advocate at the highest levels for the release of imprisoned and tortured Chechen civilians now detained in Russian filtration camps. With prisoners remaining in these facilities, it is vitally important that there be international access to them. President Putin has reportedly given personal authorization to the International Committee of the Red Cross for unimpeded access to detention facilities. The international community should monitor this to ensure that President Putin realizes this commitment and that unrestricted access for the ICRC is ensured. Engage President Putin to address the humanitarian emergency, reminding Russia of its obligation to provide food, shelter, and medical care to the displaced. Additionally, the U.S. and its allies should supply significant humanitarian aid to non-governmental humanitarian groups, including the Red Cross and UNHCR, currently serving the displaced population. > Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) mobilizes the health professions and enlists support from the general public to protect and promote the human rights of all people. As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, PHR shared the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. |
