Russian Federation

Urgent appeals

495. On 30 October 2001 the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Expression, transmitted an urgent appeal concerning Ms. Anna Politkovskaia. Ms. Politkovskaia, a journalist for the weekly newspaper "Novaia Gazette", was reportedly forced to flee from Russia and take refuge in Austria after she had received several death threats following the publication of an article on Serguei Lapin, a Russian official that she accused of having committed exactions against Chechen civilians. It was alleged that these threats could also be connected to the information provided by Ms. Politkovskaia concerning the alleged shooting down of a Russian helicopter in September 2001 by Russian forces. Furthermore, it was reported that on 20 February 2001, Ms. Politkovkaia was arrested by Russian soldiers in South Chechnya for having violated the accreditation rules imposed by military command. Allegedly, she was subsequently deported from Chechnya after Russian soldiers had confiscated her notes and photographs.

Communication sent

496. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur transmitted allegations of violation of the right to life of the following individuals.

497. It was reported that in March 2001, law enforcement agents discovered a mass-grave containing the bodies of 48 people in the Zdorodye settlement near Grozny. The following information was received concerning nine of them.

498. Mr. Adam Emievic Chimaev reportedly went missing after having been detained on 3 December 2000 at a check-point between Shali and Germenshuk by Russian soldiers.

499. Ms. Nura Luluevaya Saidalievna, Ms. Raisa Gakaev, Ms. Markha Gakaev and Ms. Aset Elbuzdukueva were reportedly detained in the morning of 3 June 2000 on Mozdokskaya Street in Grozny by people wearing camouflage uniforms and masks.

500. Mr. Saykhan Ilyasovich Ashabov was reportedly detained by soldiers on 14 August 2000 in the settlement of Alkhankala.

501. Mr. Nasrudi Slamuuevich Dakaev was reportedly arrested by Russian soldiers in his home in the night of 26 December 2000.

502. Mr. Umatgeri Abuevich Edilbekov and Mr. Magomed Magdanovich Malsagov were reportedly arrested by Russian soldiers in Grozny on 23 December 2000.

503. According to the information received, on 15 March 2001, armoured vehicles carrying Russian infantry soldiers entered the village of Novogroznensky and opened indiscriminate fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers. Mr. Aslan Bisultanov, Ms. Zalina Magomaeva, Ms. A. Dulaeva and another unidentified person were allegedly killed as a result of this operation, which reportedly was undertaken in retaliation for an attack on a Russian army convoy the same day, in which nine soldiers were wounded.

504. The Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on Torture, transmitted allegations concerning the following cases.

505. The Special Rapporteurs received information regarding deaths as a result of alleged torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the Republic of Chechnya. It was believed that a number of persons had been arrested by military forces, held in incommunicado detention in secret places and tortured before being summarily executed. The majority of the corpses reportedly showed sign of severe mutilation, including flaying or scalping, broken limbs, severed finger tops and ears, and close range bullet wounds, said to be typical of summary executions. Examinations by medical doctors of some of these bodies had allegedly revealed that some of the deliberate mutilations had been inflicted while the persons were still alive. Mutilated corpses were said to have been discovered in unmarked graves. Some were also reported to have been simply dumped by roadsides, on hospital grounds or elsewhere. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteurs were informed that only ten percent of those detained by Russian forces in the Republic of Chechnya were officially registered as detainees and that detainees were held in secret and unofficial places of detention facilities. It was reported that conditions of detention in Khankala were extremely harsh. The Special Rapporteurs also pointed to the findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) gathered during the Committees visit to the region in March 2001, which stated inter alia that there were "numerous credible and consistent allegations" of severe ill-treatment by Federal forces and noted "a palpable climate of fear" of reprisals at the local level and a "general sentiment that, in any event, justice would not be done".
506. Ali Yarshurkayev, aged 28, was reportedly arrested by military officers from the 245th division on 27 November 2000 at his home, in the village of Goity. On the next day, his disfigured body was allegedly taken by soldiers on an armed military vehicle and deposited in front of the Urus-Martan central district hospital.

507. Jusup Beksultanov was reportedly arrested by military troops on the outskirts of his village, Samashki, on 27 November 2000. On the following day, his mutilated corpse which bore marks of torture was found at a military check-point located in the western suburbs of the village of Samashki.

508. Said-Magomed Said-Rakhmanovich Delmukhanov, aged 35, was reportedly amongst residents of Duba-Yurf arrested by military officers on 13 January 2000. His body, which allegedly bore marks of torture, was reportedly found on 10 May 2000 in a cemetery in the village of Tangy-Chu.

509. Edelbek Isayev was reportedly arrested by soldiers on 7 September 2000 during a military raid in the village of Stariye Atagi, Khalkela Shatoyskiy. According to the information received, Edelbek Isayev was beaten before being taken away. His corpse, which allegedly displayed marks of ill-treatment, was reportedly found on 13 September 2000 in one of the graves of the village.

510. Kal'bek Pahaev and Valkhi Kamilov were reportedly arrested by members of the Oktyabrskii police department in Grozny on 8 September 2000. According to the information received, their partly cremated corpses, allegedly displaying marks of torture, were found on 16 September in shallow graves in the vicinity of the military base in Khankal.

511. Mahmad Taimaskhanov and Khalimov's severely decomposed corpses were found on 20 September 2000 in a forest close to the village of Dzhalk. Allegedly, both were previously arrested and injured by the army troops. It was reported that there was evidence of torture, including haematomas, on their bodies.

512. The corpses of two members of the Agaev family, father and son, were reportedly found on 9 December 2000, not far from the village of Shaami-Yuri of the Achkhoi-Martan District. Reportedly, their corpses bore multiple marks of torture.

513. Mukhaid Yusupov, Abukar Uzaev and Usmanov Buvaysar and Akkhiyadov Usman were reportedly arrested by military personnel at the village of Iliskhan-Yurt on 1 January 2001. According to the information received, on 12 February 2001, their corpses, bearing signs of mutilation, were found.

514. Husein Gaziev was reportedly detained by soldiers on 21 November 2000 when he was travelling by bus. According to the information received, the soldiers put a bag over his head, put him into a vehicle and took him to an unknown location. His body, which bore marks of torture and ill-treatment, was reportedly found on 24 November on the outskirts of the village of Davydenko.

515. Two brothers of the Arsabiev family were reportedly beaten and executed in front of their family, including their children, on 15 March 2001, when army entered their village, Novogroznensky, in response to a previous attack perpetrated by fighters against a troop convoy of federal forces. The pregnant wife of one of the brothers, who allegedly tried to persuade the soldiers to stop the beatings, was said to have been struck by the butt of an automatic weapon.

516. Chimayev Adam Emiyevich, a 37-year-old resident of Shali, was reportedly arrested at a military check-point between Shali And Germenchuck and taken away on 3 December 2000. His corpse was allegedly found in a dacha not far from Khankala, close to the main base of the army in the Republic of Chechnya on 15 February 2001. Allegedly, his corpse bore marks of torture and mutilation.

517. The corpses of Said-Rakhman Musayev, Odes Metayev and Magomed Magomadov, residents of Belgatoye, were reportedly found close to Khankala on 21 February 2001. According to the information received, the corpses bore marks of beatings, in particular to the heads, their shoulders and hands were broken and two of Metayev's fingers were cut off.

518. Zhebir Turpalkhanov and Akhmed Abuyev, held in Tsotsin Yurt, were allegedly severely beaten and held in a covered pit for five days in late April 2000 along with other detainees. According to the information received, after they had been removed from the pit on 2 May 2000, they were left by the side of the road, severely injured from the ill-treatment and harsh conditions in which they had allegedly been held. Mr. Turpalkhanov reportedly died half an hour after he arrived home.

519. Said Visaev, aged 17, from Urus-Martan, was reportedly detained by the army on 9 March 2000 in a field outside the village of Komsomolskoe. On the next day, his body, which allegedly displayed multiple marks of torture, in particular haematomas, was reportedly found in a hospital building in Urus-Martan.

520. Aslanbek, aged 20, was reportedly detained in an unofficial detention centre in Grozny, in February or March 2000. His corpse was allegedly found later on the street by his relatives.

521. Akhmed Zaurbekov and Khamzad Khasarov were reportedly taken away by military officers on 14 January 2001. Their corpses, which allegedly bore marks of torture, were reportedly found at Novye Atagi, on 26 January 2001. According to the information received, their arms, elbows and shoulder blades were broken, and there were ten to fifteen centimetres long lack bruises on the front and back of their rib cages, as if they had been hit with a long blunt object. Allegedly, Zaurebekov's right cheek and the right side of his neck had been skinned.

522. Rustam Riskhanov, aged 27, his brother, Ramzan Riskhanov, aged 32, and Tsau Timarov, aged 32, were reportedly detained by the army on 9 December 2000 at their respective houses in Alkhan-Yurt. According to the information received, their corpses bore marks of severe torture. Tasu Timarov was said to have been scalped.

523. Islam Tazurkaev was reportedly detained by the army at a check-point on Minutka Square, on 20 January 2001, when he was travelling by car with several Chechen policemen to his home in Novye Aldi, Grozny. His body was reportedly identified by his relatives on 5 March 2001. Allegedly, the body bore marks of ill-treatment or torture, including broken legs, arms and ribs, skin was stripped off and the hands and arms had been burnt.

524. Isa Larsanov was reportedly detained by federal soldiers wearing masks on 17 January 2001 at his home, in Alkhan-Kala. His wife was said to have later identified his body, which had been taken to the October district police precinct. Allegedly, an eye was missing and the arms and wrists were burnt. Furthermore, it was believed that he had been subjected to electric shocks.

525. Khamsat Gerikhanov, Ilyas Gerikhanov and Abubakar Umarov were reportedly subjected to torture and ill-treatment on 12 May 2001 in Kurchaloy district. According to the information received, Khamdi Gerikhanov and his 19-year-old son, Umar Khamdievich Gerikahnov, were both shot dead by members of the federal forces who entered into their houses.

526. Khasan Chimaev, Vakha Magomadov, Khanpasha Khisriev, Ibragim Magomed-Slikh Dokhtukaev were reportedly among the about 120 men allegedly detained by federal troops on 16 June 2001 in Kurchaloy. According to the information received, their bodies were found on 21 June 2001 by local inhabitants on the outskirts of the village. Allegedly, they died as a result of beatings and torture with electric shocks on 16 June 2001.

527. The men of Serzen-Yurt, near Shali, were reportedly rounded by federal soldiers on 20 July 2001. One of them, whose name was not known by the Special Rapporteurs, was allegedly shot in the knee, when he tried to run away and subsequently taken to a military hospital. On the following day his body, that allegedly bore marks of beatings and dog bites, was reportedly dumped near the village.

528. The village of Alleroe, in the Kurchaloevskoy region of the Republic of Chechnya, was reportedly blockaded by federal forces from 14 to 24 August 2001, which allegedly led to starvation among the population. According to the information received, all male inhabitants older than 13 years were detained in the high school building and subjected to beatings. Alimzhan Daudov was reportedly beaten and had an automatic gun put against his neck. The Special Rapporteurs were also informed that at least ten people were shot dead and that a 17-year-old shepherd from the neighbouring village of Tsentoroy was also detained and subsequently killed. It was further reported that about 50 detainees were held in holes dug in the earth on the outskirts of the village and a further 35 people were allegedly held in the Kurchaloevskaya Military Command.

Communications received

529. The Government of the Russian Federation transmitted information concerning the case of Ms. A.S. Politkovskaya. It was reported that investigation into the case revealed that on 11 and 15 October 2001 anonymous threats addressed to Ms. Politkovskaya were e-mailed to the editorial office of the weekly newspaper she was working for. The Moscow Central department of Internal Affairs had reportedly taken steps to identify the authors of the threats. To the Government's knowledge, Ms. Polikovskaya had not been forced to seek political asylum outside the Russian Federation, but was away on an assignment.

530. The Government of the Russian Federation informed the Special Rapporteur that Mr. R.S. Alikhadzhiev was not arrested by federal troops on the territory of the Chechen Republic or held in the Lefortovo remand centre of the Federal Security Service. According to the information provided, unidentified persons equipped with firearms abducted Mr. Alikhadzhiev on 17 May 2000. On 27 July 2000. The Office of the Procurator for Shalinsk district reportedly instituted proceedings in this matter which at the time of the communication were still pending. The whereabouts of the victim reportedly remained unknown.