Memorial Human Rights Center Maly Karetny pereulok, 12 Moscow 127051 Russia т. (495) 225-31-18 Web-site: http://www.memo.ru/ Bulletin by Human Rights Center “Memorial” The situation in North Caucasus. Evaluation by human rights activists. Winter 2007-2008 – early March 2008 1. Armed confrontations in North Caucasus 2. Abductions and shootings continue. 3. From the parliamentary to the presidential elections: features of the will’s expression in the North Caucasus 4. Politics in Ingushetia: No-Rules Fighting 5. Progress and Problems with Reconstruction in Chechnya 7. Nalchik: the death of one defendant, lawlessness pressure on the family of another defendant 8. Trials. 9. Recent decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. 10. Human rights organizations and the authorities. 1. Armed confrontations in North Caucasus The armed confrontations continue in North Caucasus. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the character of these confrontations has changed considerably during the past few years. It is now difficult to use the word “war” (even partisan) to describe this conflict. Insurgents have firm control only over a small piece of territory in the Republic of Dagestan. Nonetheless, these settlements and the neighboring territories are being actively “mopped up” by security forces. Thus, the whole winter the special operation had been carried out in the village of Gimry. At that it is possible to note that armed militants against the Russian Federation have created an “implanted” in number of Republics armed underground. Militants prefer to engage in shelling and ambushes as well as explosions of landmines and fougasses. In doing so, they are acting the most frequently in villages and adjacent territories. It is still impossible to give any substantial estimation of number of people and resources of militants, if we base on different statements given by “siloviks” of diverse departments and diverse levels. The difference in the estimations of number and of the level of organization of militants is too large. Like all previous years, the officials are speculating with number of militants doing so in the interests of one or another security agency. The federal militaries counted up to 440 militants people on the territory of Chechnya (general A. Edelev, deputy Minister of the Interior, RIA Novosti, 6.2.2008) while the General Nikolay Rogozhkin, commander-in-chief of the Internal Troops in December 2007, estimated the number of militants throughout all the northern Caucasus at 500 - 700 people. In January 2008 Ramzan Kadyrov has once again put an the end to the war, calling to mention it only in the past tense. He counts 60 – 70 of “shaitans” - the traditional figure, meaning, apparently, a level which allows believing the war is finished (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 1.2.2008). The scale of operational activities of the bodies of the Ministry of the Interior over the past year is still serious. According to the Major-General Vyacheslav Kuzmin, representative of the Ministry of the Interior, over the past year only in Chechnya 28 chiefs of band-groups and 164 militants, including the "commanders of the fronts" Batayev, Mutiyev, Khalilov had been “neutralized" (that means, physically destroyed). Another 735 militants were detained. In doing so, 329 bases of militants and 676 caches of weapons and ammunition were eliminated, 867 pieces of small arms, 409 grenade launchers and 7656 cartridges for them, 31 flame-thrower, 15 anti-tank guided missiles, about 2000 hand grenades, more than 11500 shells and mines, 1880 kilograms of explosives, more than 550 thousand munitions were seized. 285 hand made explosive devices were neutralized (according to the official website of the Russian Federation’s Ministry of the Interior, 17.3.2008). It is no surprise that on January 30, the Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the final board of the Federal Security Service, said that the situation in the North Caucasus was still not under the total control of Moscow, and the terrorist threat in this region was still high. Meanwhile, the virtual proclaimed last autumn Islamic state "Imarat Caucasus" is still existing. His head, Dokku Umarov, now called with a religious name Abu Usman, made a long inspection trip throughout "vilayyets" of Ichkeria and Ingushetia, during which he visited the cities of Dzhohar (Grozny), Nazran, the villages of Avtury and Kurchaloy, held a meeting with the leadership and inspected the ordinary "mujahedins", as the website "Kavkaz-Center" reported. At that, Umarov stressed that, all squads remained in their winter camps, supposedly, the first time since the beginning of the second war. The separatists’ websites are still full of sharp disputes between supporters and opponents of the new course of Dokku Umarov to establish a Shariah State and the supporters of the old model of Ichkeria’s separatism - mainly immigrants, settled abroad. The press release about the visit marked openly in the Soviet spirit how all the field commanders "have expressed their sharp displeasure and condemnation" of the actions of the schismatics (Kavkaz -Center, 1.2.2008). In recent months political, religious, and legal discussions about the State structure of the North Caucasus have become the main information’s occasion. They have even overshadowed the reports from the "fronts". During the winter of 2007/2008 the intensity of the military clashes between federal and local “siloviks” from the one hand and militants from the other hand was considerably high, though it was significantly lower than last autumn. Officially it was announced that only in Chechnya and only in January 2008 18 militants were killed and 51 people suspected of involvement in illegal armed groups were arrested (IA Rosbalt, 2.2.2008). The losses of Russian “siloviks” can be estimated on announcements of the news agencies, collected on the website "Voinenet.ru". According to its information, in the winter of 2006/2007 in the North Caucasus 42 representatives of security agencies were killed and 85 injured, including 18 killed and 40 injured people in Chechnya, 11 killed and 24 injured in Ingushetia, 7 killed and 18 injured in Dagestan, 3 killed and 3 injured in Kabardino-Balkaria, 2 killed in Karachevo-Cherkessia and 1 killed in North Ossetia. Compared with autumn season in 2007, when 61 people were killed and 132 injured, the number of victims of terrorist attacks and militant clashes dropped by one and a half times, but it is considerably higher than the same number for the last winter 2006/2007: 25 killed and 70 injured people (see the relevant bulletins by Memorial": www.memo.ru/2007/12/27/2712071.html , www.memo.ru/2007/03/14/1403072.html). Thus, it is impossible to talk about a sharp reduction in number of militant clashes and attacks on soldiers. There are a few typical episodes. On January 15, during a special operation carried out in Grozny, four militants, involved in the killing of law enforcement officials, were killed. Uvays Techiyev, his 19-year old wife Zama Mantsuyeva, Ruslan Isayev and Khalid Sultanov were killed in their house located on Pavlov street in Grozny. On January 16, in woodlands on the outskirts of villages of Marzoy-Mokhk and Benoy of Vedeno district of Chechnya a clash between police officers and a group of Chechen militants occurred. During the firefight, seven policemen were injured, one of them subsequently died of his wounds. Later, the law enforcement officials in Chechnya have found the body of one of the militants on the place of shooting. On January 28, in woodland near the village of Gordali of Nozhay-Yurtovsky district during crossfire between officers of security agencies and a group of militants a soldier of a unit of the Interior Troops of the Ministry of the Interior of RF and a policeman were killed. Later the law enforcement officers found the bodies of two militants, a men and a young woman, near the village of Bas-Gordali. On January 30, in wooded mountain area in the west of Chechnya the clashes between militias and federal "siloviks" occurred. On January 30, in the afternoon, in woodlands in the vicinity of the village of Chishki of Urus-Martan district, four unidentified people abducted a hired soldier, Sergeant of the Interior troops of the Ministry of the Interior Zarochentsev, born in 1984. Officers from the commandant's office conducted the reconnaissance and search-related activities in the forest. Perhaps they were due to the activity of a group of militants in southern Urus-Martan district in the vast forests. Many times they have begun clashes with federal soldiers. Thus, on January 15, near Chishky a column of three vehicles, two "Ural" and one "UAZ", carrying 12 officers belonging to a detachment of the Interim Operational Grouping of the Russian Ministry of the Interior on Shatoy’s district, came under fire. As a result, two policemen from Bryansk (Sevsky and Mglinsky) districts were injured. The fact of presence of the Interim Operational Grouping of MVD in Shatoy’s district proved its unstable environment. For example, this kind of institution were abolished "on the plane" about three years ago, and all of the powers were transferred to permanent police offices, staffed by officers of Ministry of the Interior from among local residents. It is even more surprising that they, as it was reported, were going to the plains, to the base of federal forces in Khankala in order to take provisions and firewood (!). The latter indicates the degree of control on the territory taken by federal forces: if it is true, they do not dare to go to the mountainous villages to bring firewood. On January 29, the situated on the plain the village of Gekhi of Urus-Martan’s district was subjected to artillery fire, and it’s a miracle that no one died or was injured.