Dear Members of Parliament,
For the past several years, our organizations have been regularly monitoring and reporting to the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on kidnappings in and around the Chechen Republic. In connection with many such cases, there were strong allegations or direct proof that members of local and federal enforcement agencies were perpetrators in these crimes. In 2004, we became particularly concerned by the instances of hostage-taking of rebel fighters’ relatives by Chechnya law-enforcers, especially by the presidential security service, with the aim of achieving the cooperation and/or the surrender of the said rebels.
We attempted to discuss such heinous practices with Russian authorities but to no avail. Then, after the Beslan tragedy, we were deeply concerned by an attempt to legitimize hostage-taking by state agents made by the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, the chief official supervising compliance with the law, who proposed to the State Duma to take family-members of individuals suspected of terrorism hostage as a necessary and effective measure to fight terrorism. At the time, we hoped for President Putin’s strong reaction to that initiative coming from such a high official as Mr. Ustinov, but no such reaction followed.
Recently, we were informed by the Human Rights Center ‘Memorial’ and other reliable Russian sources, that members of the presidential security service under the command and order of Ramzan Kadyrov - the so-called kadyrovtsi - have abducted at least eight relatives of Aslan Maskhadov, and allegedly brought them to their illegal "prison" in Tsenteroi, Gudermes district of Chechnya, in order to force Maskhadov to give up his armed resistance against the federal government.
The following relatives of Aslan Maskhadov were abducted:
· Buchu Alievna Abdulkadirova (67), sister of Aslan Maskhadov, living in Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement Krasnaya Turbina, Turbinnaya street 62, was taken away on 3 December 2004 at about 9 pm by a group of kadyrovtsi, who came in 9 cars. When being stopped at a block post of the battalion ‘West’ of the GRU, the kadyrovtsi shouted that they were sent by Ramzan Kadyrov, and that the abducted person was the sister of Maskhadov. Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed this over the phone, and the GRU servicemen had to let the armed group pass.
· Lecha Alievich Maskhadov (68), brother of Aslan Maskhadov, living in Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement Podgorny, Mostovaja street b/n, was taken away on 3 December 2004 at about 8:15 pm by a group of kadyrovtsi, who came in 12 cars.
· Lema Alievich Maskhadov (55), brother of Aslan Maskhadov, living in the Groznenskoselsky district, settlement Pervomaiskaya, Sovetskaya street 125, was taken away on 3 December 2004, at about 8 pm by a group of kadyrovtsi. He was not even allowed to dress.
· Adam Abdul-Karimovich Rashiev (54), a distant handicapped relative of Aslan Maskhadov, living in Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement Podgorny, Sovkhoznaja street 26, was taken away on 3 December 2004 at about 8:15 pm by a group of kadyrovtsi, who came in 11 cars.
· Ihvan Vahaevich Magomedov (35), nephew of Aslan Maskhadov, living in the Groznenskoselsky district, settlement Pervomaiskaya, Sovetskaya street 87, was taken away on 3 December 2004 at about 8 pm by a group of kadyrovtsi. The group openly showed that they were operating under the order of Ramzan Kadyrov.
· Khadizhat Vakhaevna Satueva (40), niece of Aslan Maskhadov, living in the house of her mother, Buchu Abdulkadyrova (Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement Krasnaya Turbina, Turbinnaya street 62), was taken away on 28 December 2004 by a group of kadyrovtsi. They took her barefooted.
· Usman Ramzanovich Satuev (47), son-in-law of Aslan Maskhadov, living in Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement "Novaja," was taken away on 28 December 2004 by a group of kadyrovtsi.
· Movladi (35), relative of Aslan Maskhadov, living in Grozny, Staropromyslovsky district, settlement "Avtotrest," was taken away on 28 December 2004 by a group of kadyrovtsi.
The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) emphasize that hostage-taking is universally condemned in a number of international legal documents: in particular the 1979 UN Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, which qualifies these acts as an "offence of grave concern to the international community."
We strongly reject the use of such terrorist methods by the armed group of Ramzan Kadyrov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Chechen Republic and recent recipient of the ‘Hero Of Russia’ Award.
We have already addressed President Putin with a letter demanding that the aforesaid hostages be released and the perpetrators in this crime, including Ramzan Kadyrov himself, be effectively brought to justice. We hereby request that you support our demand and clearly indicate to the leader of the Russian Federation that his expedient reaction to this case is requisite, including in order to prove to the international community, still taken aback by the Prosecutor General’s scandalous proposal, that the Russian Federation, as a reliable member of the European family and a member of the Council of Europe, upholds international human rights standards and shall not tolerate hostage-taking in any form.
We note that by failing adequately to denounce and sanction massive violations of human rights in Chechnya and attacks against democracy in the Russian Federation, democratic states acquiesce to the continued deterioration of the human rights climate in Europe. We emphasize that such developments in Russia are not its internal matter, but a threat to the rule of law and human rights in Europe as a whole, which must in turn be a concern of Europe. We strongly hope for your active support and prompt action.
Sincerely,
Aaron Rhodes
(IHF, Executive Director)
Sidiki Kaba
(FIDH, President)