Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - mei 2016

• 2016-06-01
• Democratie & mensenrechten Europa in de wereld

6 mei 2016

Human rights activists plan to visit North Caucasus: The Presidential Human Rights Council discussed preparations for a session in the North Caucasus Federal District, scheduled for 1-10 June. Human rights activists plan to meet with the heads of regions of the District, including acting head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. (ii) Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports on a meeting held on Thursday in Astrakhan by Russian Security Council Secretary Patrushev to discuss the security situation in the Southern Federal District. Patrushev pointed to an increase in the number of terrorism related crimes in the Southern Federal District. (RG, Vedomosti)

10 mei 2016

Suicide bombers attack police checkpoint in Chechnya: According to official reports, six policemen from the Republic of Bashkortostan were injured as two suspected suicide bombers attacked a checkpoint near Grozny (capital of Chechnya) on 9 May. One of the attackers blew himself up and the other one was killed by a policeman. The attackers have been identified as local residents. Law enforcement officers do not rule out that the militants could have planned to stage a terror attack in Grozny during Victory Day celebrations. (ii) The Federal Security Service (FSB) said last Friday that it had thwarted plans to stage a terror attack in Krasnoyarsk (Siberia) during the May holidays. (Kommersant, TASS; Rossiya 1)

12 mei 2016

Militants' homes burnt in Chechnya: Reportedly, the houses belonging to relatives of two militants, who had attacked a checkpoint near Grozny on 9 May, have been burnt in Chechnya. The cause of the fire has not been established. Novye Izvestia recalls that after a militant assault on Grozny in December 2014, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that militants' families would be deported and their houses destroyed. (Novye Izvestia)

13 mei 2016

European Court of Human Rights rules in case over disappearance of Chechen resident: The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in the case over the disappearance of Chechen resident Zarema Gaisanova following a special operation conducted by Russian law enforcement officers at her home in Chechnya in 2009. The Court ruled that Russia violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including Article 2 ('right to life') and ordered that Russia pay 60,000 euro (non-pecuniary damage) to her mother. (Kommersant)

16 mei 2016

Chechnya's Supreme Court head resigns after Kadyrov's criticism: Chairman of Chechnya's Supreme Court Magomed Karatayev submitted his resignation after criticism expressed by acting head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov. (ii) The media reports that the house of resident of the village of Kenkhi (Chechnya's Sharoi district) Ramazan Dzhalaldinov, who complained to President Putin about the local officials' actions, was burned down.  Novaya Gazeta expresses concern that the incident could provoke a conflict between Chechnya and Dagestan as the village of Kenkhi is inhabited mainly by ethnic Avars. (Interfax, Novaya Gazeta)

At least three killed, more than 100 detained in mass brawl at Moscow cemetery: At least three people have been killed and more than 20 hospitalized after a mass brawl on Saturday at Moscow's Khovanskoye cemetery. Reportedly, up to 400 people have been involved in the brawl. The brawl broke out between a group of natives of Russia's North Caucasus and a group of migrants from Central Asia. Police said that more than 100 people have been detained. According to preliminary information, more than 40 illegal migrants, who had been detained, would be deported from Russia (Kommersant). According to the Interior Ministry, the brawl was sparked by a dispute over the cemetery's services business. Moscow police chief Yakunin has ordered to check all cemeteries in Moscow in terms of financial violations and violation of migration legislation. Some commentators raise questions about the actions of police during the incident. MK remarks that the fight at Khovanskoye cemetery resembles gang wars of the 1990s. (Kommersant, MK RBK, RG)

17 mei 2016

Human Rights Council to discuss situation in Chechen village: According to some reports, police have cordoned off the Chechen village of Kenkhi, where the house of local resident Ramazan Dzhalaldinov who complained to President Putin about local authorities' actions was set on fire. However, the Chechen Interior Ministry has denied the reports. Kommersant writes that the Presidential Human Rights Council intends to discuss the situation in Kenkhi at its session in Chechnya in June. (Kommersant, MT)

25 mei 2016

Long prison terms sought for two Ukrainians accused of fighting in Chechnya in 1990s: The prosecutor has asked Chechnya's Supreme Court to sentence to 22 ½ years imprisonment and 22 years imprisonment, respectively, Ukrainian citizens Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh accused of involvement in the killing of Russian soldiers during the conflict in Chechnya in the 1990s. (Kommersant)

Security conference in Grozny: According to media reports, representatives of 75 countries take part in an international security conference in Grozny (capital of Chechnya). Kommersant remarks that there are no high-ranking officials from NATO countries among participants, adding that only Germany, Hungary and Slovakia were represented at the level of First Secretaries of Embassies and retired military officials. Meanwhile, Kommersant expresses cautious optimism about prospects for cooperation between Russia and the US in the field of cybersecurity. (Kommersant, RG)

27 mei 2016

Russian court sentences two Ukrainian nationalists to long prison terms: Chechnya's Supreme Court has sentenced members of the Ukrainian nationalist organization UNA-UNSO Nikolai Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh to 22.5 and 20 years imprisonment, respectively. Karpyuk and Klykh have been found guilty of involvement in the killing of Russian soldiers during the conflict in Chechnya in the 1990s. The Kiev authorities have condemned the verdict and demanded that the two Ukrainians be released. (Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, TASS)