Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - april 2008

• 2008-04-30
• Europa in de wereld

2 april 2008

- Court rejects ex-colonel Budanov’s motion for release : A court in the Ulyanovskregion has rejected a motion for release on parole filed by former colonel Yury Budanov who had been convicted of killing a Chechen woman in 2003 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. (Kommersant, VN)

- New case against Chechen militant leader Umarov: Dailies report on criminal proceedings on extremist charges launched by investigators against Chechen militant leader, Doku Umarov, in connection with his videotaped message posted on the Internet. Umarov is on the federal wanted list in relation to other cases. (Gazeta, Kommersant)

4 april 2008

- Berezovsky denies involvement in Politkovskaya’s murder: Boris Berezovsky has dismissed the accusations by the head of the Investigation Committee’s main investigative department, Dmitry Dovgiy, who claimed in his interview with Izvestia that Berezovsky had ordered the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya through “Chechen criminal gang leader” Khozh-Akhmed Nukhayev. Izvestia said Dovgiy gave the interview before he was suspended pending an internal investigation over possible corruption. (Kommersant, MT, RIAN)

8 april 2008

In an article by Olga Bolotova, Gazeta reports on the approval by the European Commission of a new humanitarian aid package of 11 million euro to Chechnya.

10 april 2008

- Militants detained in Kabardino-Balkaria: Yesterday in Nalchik, Interior Minister of the Republicof Kabardino-Balkaria(the Northern Caucasus) Yury Tomchak announced the detention of three members of an illegal armed group of radical Islam supporters who were planning the murders of law enforcement officers. Kommersant writes that one of the detainees is an ethnic Russian who has recently converted to Islam. (Interfax, Kommersant)

11 april 2008

- Interior Minister concerned over situation in Kalmykia : Yesterday in Elista, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev voiced concern over the situation in the Republicof Kalmykiawhich is “being impacted”, as he said, by a number of factors, including “the proximity of Kalmykia to the areas of anti-terrorist operations in Dagestanand Chechnya”. (Interfax, NG)

16 april 2008

- Shootout between military and law enforcement officers in Chechnya: Press, including some dailies in front-page articles, reports on a shootout on Monday in Gudermes involving Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s guards and local police, and servicemen of the Defence Ministry’s Vostok (‘East’) battalion, commanded by Sulim Yamadayev. According to media reports, four people were killed in the incident that has been caused by a standoff between the two motorcades which would not give way to each other. The Defence Ministry has declined to comment on the incident. Some commentators view the incident as part of Ramzan Kadyrov’s effort to assume authority over all law enforcement and security agencies in Chechnya, and recall in this context the standoff between the Chechen authorities and the ‘Highlander’ special task force, subordinate to the FSB. (Gazeta, Kommersant, MT, VN)

17 april 2008

- Standoff between ChechnyaPresident and Vostok battalion commander: High-ranking Defence Ministry official, Vladimir Shamanov, yesterday denied reports on a shootout involving servicemen of the Defence Ministry’s Vostok (‘East’) battalion, commanded by Sulim Yamadayev, and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov’s guards. Shamanov dismissed claims that there were victims in the incident. Meanwhile, Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov said measures had been taken by Chechen police to find Sulim Yamadayev’s brother, Badrudi, who is suspected to be behind the incident. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov accused the Yamadayev brothers of a number of crimes and demanded that they be brought to justice. Press reports on open confrontation between Ramzan Kadyrov and the Yamadayevs. Vremya novostei writes that the standoff could be seen as “an attempt of a regional leader to interfere in the competences not only of the federal authorities but the competences of the military command”. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, VN)

- PACE session : Dailies report on the speech of Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s session yesterday in Strasbourg and a statement released on Tuesday by a committee of the PACE on “alarming human rights violations by security forces in the Northern Caucasus”. (Kommersant, NG, RIAN, VN)

18 april 2008

- Chechen Parliament asks Defence Minister to disband Vostok battalion: The Chechen Parliament has adopted a resolution calling on Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to disband the Vostok battalion or replace the battalion’s commander. The resolution accused the commander of the battalion, Sulim Yamadayev, and his brother Badrudi of illegal actions “to destabilize the situation and instigate armed conflicts” in Chechnya. Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov stated that 200 out of the 850 servicemen from the Vostok battalion had submitted discharge requests as they do not want to serve under the command of Sulim Yamadayev. (Gazeta, Interfax, Kommersant, NG, Trud, VN)

21 april 2008

- Vostokcommander slams amnesty for militants: (i) Commander of the Defence Ministry’s Vostok (‘East’) battalion, Sulim Yamadayev, said on Saturday that amnestied militants recruited by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov were engaged in violence, and expressed the view that the amnestied militants could return to the mountains and fight against Russia. Kommersant-Vlast weekly magazine publishes an interview with Sulim Yamadayev. (ii) Media report that the Defence Ministry leadershipis expected to discuss the situation around the Vostok battalion. Gazeta suggests that the final decision on the battalion may be taken after the 7 May inauguration of President-elect Dmitry Medvedev. (iii) A district police chief in Chechnyahas been found dead after being kidnapped in Chechnya. (Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, NG, Novaya Gazeta, VN)

- CoE Human Rights Commissioner visits Moscow: The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, who arrived in Moscow on 18 April, is expected to meet President Putin, President-elect Medvedev, Foreign Minister Lavrov, as well as the heads of Chechnya and Dagestan, Ramzan Kadyrov and Mukhu Aliyev. In an interview with Kommersant (Saturday’s issue), Hammarberg said he intends to raise the issues such as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, xenophobia and racism during his visit. (Kommersant)

22 april 2008

- CoE Human Rights Commissioner visits Chechnya: Meeting Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov yesterday in Grozny, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, spoke of positive changes in the field of human rights in Chechnya and pledged the Council of Europe’s support for opening a laboratory for body identification in Chechnya. Kadyrov, in turn, called the issue of tracking missing people “the most burning” for Chechnya. Hammarberg is also scheduled to visit Dagestanand Ingushetia. (Gazeta, Interfax, RG, RIAN)

23 april 2008

- Hammarberg’s visit to Chechnya: The Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg yesterday completed his visit to Chechnyaand arrived in Ingushetia. According to Gazeta, Hammarberg wanted to visit Gudermes where Chechen law enforcement officers blockaded the Vostok battalion’s base. Officials, however, convinced him that “there is nothing interesting”. (Gazeta, NG, VN)

- Chechen/Ichkerian militant leader surrenders: Dailies report that the former head of the so called Chechen/Ichkerian ‘armed forces headquarters’, Alkhazur Abuyev, has surrendered to the authorities. The press writes that in 1997-1998, Abuyev led the separatists’ actions in Chechnya. (Gazeta, Kommersant)

24 april 2008

- Developments in N. Caucasus: (i) A Federal Security Service (FSB) helicopter was reportedly attacked by gunmen yesterday in Chechnya. According to a source in law enforcement agencies, the helicopter was damaged and had to make an emergency landing. Meanwhile, the Chechen Interior Ministry said “no incidents involving a military helicopter had recently taken place” in Chechnya. (ii) According to media reports, two FSB officers were wounded in an attack yesterday in Ingushetia. (Interfax, RIAN)