Chechen cases studied by the Strasbourg CourtCHECHEN CASES STUDIED BY THE STRASBOURG COURT
The weekly NTV-Itogi correspondent on Nov. 19 specifically declared that "No Chechen cases are being considered in the Strasbourg Court." The "Memorial" Human Rights Center is disproving the not-well-informed correspondent by providing information on 16 cases taken under consideration by the Court in Strasbourg on the basis of absence of justice in Chechnya. Memorial Center is authorized to represent the victims in the Court in Strasbourg. Three of these cases - all related to the killing of civilians - became active this past summer.
1. The Bombing of a refugee's column on Baku-Rostov Highway on October 23 1999.
2. Murders in the Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny during the mopping-up operation* in January 2000.
3. The Katyr-Yurt slaughter on February 4 2000 in which 150 people were murdered.
This week the cases went through the preliminary study procedure and the relevant requests were sent to the Russian Government.
The second war in Chechnya has already lasted for more than a year. During this period thousands of civilians have been killed, illegally detained, beaten, or tortured in the filtration system. At the same time there are no courts in Chechnya where the citizens can seek redress. Already four thousand applications have been sent to the office of the Human Rights Representative in Chechnya. Only 20 investigations have been started by the Russian side.
* translation corrected by Prague Watchdog
Source: Glasnost Foundation
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