Chechen human rights ombudsman “parts company” with MemorialBy Ruslan Isayev
GROZNY, Chechnya – Lyoma Khasuyev, the Chechen Republic’s human rights ombudsman, will no longer collaborate with the human rights centre Memorial. Khasuyev announced this on June 15 at a closed session of the Chechen Republic’s State Council devoted to human rights violations.
According to Khasuyev, Memorial “exaggerates the figures for Chechnya, and the work of this NGO is directed against the Russian state.”
At the meeting Khasuyev said that special representations of the human rights ombudsman will be created in every district of Chechnya, where any resident will be able to file a complaint about the violation of his or her rights. For example, a representation of this kind was created yesterday, Wednesday, in the Kurchaloysky district.
Meanwhile human rights defenders at Memorial called the data cited at the State Council inaccurate (according to this data, around 70 people have been abducted in Chechnya during the current year). In Memorial’s opinion, the real figures are actually several times higher.
Translated by David McDuff. (MD/T) RELATED ARTICLES:
· Memorial's open letter to Alu Alkhanov about Khasuyev's statement (Memorial, 17.6.2005)
· Dozens killed, dozens kidnapped in Chechnya this year, Memorial states (PW, 18.05.2005)
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