Survey of Human Rights Materials - June - July 2001 June 1, Memorial
A SECOND CIVILIAN BURIAL SITE DISCOVERED NEAR THE MILITARY BASE AT KHANKALA
New report by the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” states that in addition to a mass grave discovered near the Russian military base in Khankala in late February, another burial site containing civilians was found in the vicinity of Khankala.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
June 2, The Moscow Times
DEATH OF VIKTOR ALEXEYEVICH POPKOV
A well-known human rights activist and humanitarian worker in the Northern Caucasus Viktor Alekseyevich Popkov died on June 2. He was wounded on April 18 near the village of Alkhan Khala as his car was attacked by unknown gunmen. Popkov was one of the most peculiar individuals active in the area, having worked in the Northern Caucasus for 15 years. Although slightly irrelevant in the context of summary of human rights report, we are reproducing a tribute article to Popkov as written by a close friend of his and published in The Moscow Times newspaper on June 20.
THE WHOLE ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE HERE
June 1-28, July 2- 30 Society of the Chechen – Russian Friendship
PRESS RELEASES 80-88, 89-102
Press releases of the Society of the Russian-Chechen Friendship provide running reports written by local correspondents of the Society, summarizing major incidents in the month of May, June and July, providing lists of people detained in Chechnya, and describing infamous “mopping-up operations” at various places around the republic. Although the site is often difficult to access and the unique reports are mostly in Russian, the information provided is the only continuous series of first-hand accounts written by local Chechen residents.
ALL PRESS RELEASE IN RUSSIAN ARE AVAILABLE HERE
PRESS RELEASE NO. 99 IN ENGLISH DESCRIBING “MOPPING UP” OPERATIONS IN ALKHAN-KALA AND SERZHEN YURT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 2, Memorial
HOW PEOPLE IN CHECHNYA “DISAPPEAR”
The report, divided in two, details the fate of civilians whose bodies were discovered in a mass grave near the Russian military base in Khankala in late February: 1. Testimony on the circumstances of the death of Saikhan Askhabov and of the disappearances of three other citizens of the village Alkhan-Kala. 2. Testimony from a man who was detained in a pit together with brothers of the Reskhanov family and Tasu Timarov.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 5, Memorial
THE “CLEANSING” OPERATIONS IN SERNOVODSK AND ASSINOVSKAYA WERE PUNISHMENT OPERATIONS
Report by members of the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” from the scene of large-scale “mopping up” operations conducted by Russian forces in the Chechen villages of Sernovodsk and Assinovskaya on July 2-5. According to the report the “mopping up” operations were essentially aimed at punishing all inhabitants of the villages and the refugees staying there in temporary accommodation. The operations were accompanied by mass looting and extortion. Villagers’ property was destroyed and ruined and grenades were thrown into several homes.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 6, Human Rights Watch
NEW ROUND OF RUSSIAN SWEEP OPERATIONS TRIGGERS OUTFLOW OF CIVILIANS
Recent “mopping up” operations at various places around Chechnya caused a massive outflow of civilians from the republic to the neighboring Ingushetia. The statement by Human Rights Watch claims that "the level of arbitrary detentions we are seeing now is unprecedented. [...] This amounts to collective punishment and is absolutely unacceptable."
THE WHOLE STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 9, Memorial
CLEANSING OPERATIONS IN THE KURCHALOYEVSKIY REGION
Report based on interviews with local residents and administrative representatives of Kurchaloyevskiy region and visits to the central hospital. Information on the “mopping up“ operations is supplemented with excerpts from the statements by local residents.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 10, Memorial
CLEANSING OPERATION IN THE VILLAGE OF CHERNORECHYE
The “mopping up” operations in the village of Chernorechye in the Zavadskoy district of Grozny took place on June 28. The report by the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” provides accounts of two residents of the village who describe the looting and inhuman treatment of civilian population.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 10, European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
PUBLIC STATEMENT CONCERNING THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC
The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has issued a public statement concerning the Chechen Republic. The public statement is prompted by the Russian authorities’ failure to cooperate with the CPT in relation to two issues: i) the carrying out of a thorough and independent inquiry into events in a detention facility at Chernokozovo during the period December 1999 to early February 2000; ii) action taken to uncover and prosecute cases of ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the Chechen Republic in the course of the current conflict.
THE PUBLIC STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 10, Memorial
THE STATUS OF INVESTIGATIONS INTO CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIANS COMMITTED BY REPRESENTATIVES OF FEDERAL FORCES ON THE TERRITORY OF THE CHECHEN REPUBLIC DURING THE COURSE OF MILITARY ACTION 1999-2000 (AS OF MAY 2001)
The statement by the General Prosecutor of Russia, Vladimir Ustinov, at a meeting with a joint delegation from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Russian State Duma (March 2001) that not a single infringement of the law, not one human rights violation will go unexamined by the office of the Russian prosecutor” is completely false. This report by Human Rights Centre “Memorial“ sheds light on the current status of investigations into war crimes committed in Chechnya.
THE WHOLE REPORT IS AVAILABLE HERE
July 30, Memorial
CLEANSING OPERATIONS IN CHIRI-YURT: MAY-JULY 2001
The report by Human Rights Center Memorial depicts three mopping up operation that have taken place in the town of Chiri-Yurt during the past 2,5 months.
THE WHOLE REPORT IN RUSSIAN IS AVAILABLE HERE
Compiled by Prague Watchdog
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