Kavkazcenter.com

Terror against civilians doesn't slack up in Chechnya

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:07:38 GMT

Ichkeria.info reported that abductions, extrajudicial punishments and torture of innocent people in Chechnya are going on. On March 17, two local residents of Argun settlement were abducted by gang members of puppet regime in Chechnya. Bloody puppet regime claimed that both of hostages lend Chechen Mujahideen a hand as money and food between November 2008 and March 2009. On March 10, local collaborators of the Russian occupying forces abducted a 44 years old local resident of in Maskhadov district of Grozny. Puppets claimed that their hostage was a Chechen freedom fighter under command of Khamzat Gelaev in the period from Spring to Autum 1999. On March 7, two local residents were abducted in Maskhadov district of Jokhar (former Grozny) by bandits of the puppet regime. One of the hostages was accused with to be a member of Chechen Mujahideen, and the other one was accused to providing help for them. Let's remember that previously the representatives of human rights organizations exposed that gang members of butcher Kadyrov is declaring killed young local residents as Mujahideen but in reality they haven't had any relation with mujahedeen. Kavkaz Center + WaYNaKH Online

Why is Chechen blood cheaper than Palestinian?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:42:32 GMT

An Australian journalist Brett Stephens asked the following rhetorical question - why the whole world pays great attention to the Palestinian-"Israeli" conflict, and virtually has no interest in what is happening in Chechnya. Stephens indicated that the so-called "counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya" and the second Palestinian intifada had broke out almost simultaneously. Victims of the latter, including civilian casualties as a result of a military invasion of Zionists were counted and they make about 6 thousand people. As for Chechnya, there are no solid figures for the number of killed civilians. Estimates range from 25,000 to 200,000, the journalist writes. The Chechnya's population, at a little more than one million, is about one third or one fourth of Palestine's. That makes between 25 and 200 Chechen deaths per 1,000 as against 1.5 to two Palestinian deaths per 1,000. Keeping in memory the fact that in both cases Muslims are being killed by non-Muslims, Stephens typed the words Palestine and genocide into Google. Search engine found in the Internet 1, 630, 000 results satisfying the search query. At the same time, the combination of Chechnya and genocide gives only 245,000 results. Comparing the number of deaths per 1 thousand of the population with the number of results in Google, Stephens came to a conclusion that Palestinian victims of the conflict get 28 times more attention than the Chechen. Stephens is again convinced that "every Palestinian death is worthy for the world, and nobody cares a damn a Chechen one". The Australian journalist doesn't accept the argument that Palestinians are abundantly supplied from the outside world with pictures of the results of "Israeli" military operations, demonstrating martyred old people, women and children, while Russian authorities have imposed an information blockade on Chechnya. Stephens says that to feel the full horror of what is happening in Chechnya, there is no need for video clips. As a very simple example, he cites evidence of Russian military about the execution of a so-called "Chechen sniper", published in the Los Angeles Times: "We just tore her apart with two armored personnel carriers, having tied her ankles with steel cables. There was a lot of blood, but the boys needed it". So talkings that the world supposedly does not know what is happening in Chechnya is a lie. The world is well aware of the Russia' atrocities and the crimes of Russian troops in Chechnya. Stephens again raises questions to which he cannot find answers: The "Israeli"-Palestinian conflict inflames the Muslim world in a way the Russian-Chechen does not. But why is it so, when so many more Muslims are being victims of the Russians? Why to make "solidarity" pilgrimages to Ramallah but not to the Chechen capital of Jokhar? Why do British academics organize boycotts of "Israel" but not of Russia? Why does every "Israeli" prime minister invariably become a global pariah, when not a single person among 1,000 knows the name of Putin's viceroy in Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, a man who, by many accounts, keeps a dungeon near his house to personally torture his political opponents? Stephens puts forward his hypothesis: Maybe the world attends to Palestinian grievances but not to Chechen for the sole reason that Palestinians are, uniquely, perceived as victims of the "jewish state". Or being expelled en masse from Kuwait. Or being excluded from the labor force in Lebanon", the journalist writes and concludes that as for the Chechens, too bad for their cause that "no jew is ever likely to become president of Russia". These words, obviously, are to be understood assuming the current president of Russia, according to Stephens, is presumably an ethnic Russian (ethnic Russians know well he is a jew - KC), which may challenge many Russian nationalists. However, as it seems, Stephens' hypothesis still seems uncertain. And it was not that natural attention of the Muslim world is focused on Palestine because the Zionists, with the support of modern Western crusaders, occupy the third holiest site in Islam - Al-Aqsa Mosque and the city of Al-Quds (AKA Jerusalem). The reason why the world does not notice Russian crimes in Chechnya is not in a presumably "Russian" nationality of the man in the Kremlin, but in much more prosaic motives. Russia is a great country, it has nuclear weapons, it has great energy resources (the Russians steal them in Siberian countries they illegally occupy - KC) , which are much needed in Europe (and not only there), Russia is still being afraid. And the so-called "Islamic world", presented by puppet regimes operating as puppets of Western democracies, always united against every move to establish the Sharia. As for the current Palestinian leaders, the national democratic Mahmoud Abbas, his Fatah and "extremist" Hamas, led by the national-Islamists, they have no intention to establish the Sharia. Moreover, the same Hamas had immediately executed Palestinian Muslims, as soon as they demanded to introduce Sharia. So Hamas has successfully passed a test for democracy. Ruslan Sinbarigov, Kavkaz Center

Puppet terrorist police officer eliminated in Dagestan

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:10:31 GMT

As reported by Russian media outlets, a senior puppet police terrorist officer has been eliminated in Dagestan by the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate on Thursday, March 18, at about 8:30 pm local time, near his house in the village of Batayurt in the CE province of Dagestan. The terrorist whose name was given as Shekhabov was shot dead in his car. He served his Russian masters in the position of a police investigator and held the rank of a senior lieutenant. Kavkaz Center

Russian puppets police post attacked in Ingushetia

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:09:20 GMT

As reported by Russian invaders' media outlets, the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirates attacked with light and heavy weapons a puppet police post in Ingush capital of Nazran on Thursday night, March 18, at 11:40 pm local time. The Russians who always lie about their real fatalities and casualties only said that three of their puppets had been wounded. The Mujahideen suffered no losses. Kavkaz Center

10 Russian invader terrorists and puppets killed in contact battles in Chechnya

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:19:03 GMT

According to the latest preliminary reports from Kavkaz Center correspondents, at least 7 to 10 Russian invader terrorists have been killed and many wounded during the last two days in battles in Vedeno district of the Caucasus Emirates' province of Chechnya. The correspondents report that many wounded Russian hirelings were brought to a local hospital in the Chechen town of Shali. Some dead hirelings were also brought there. The Russians delivered their wounded soldiers by helicopters to a Russian military base in Khankala near the Chechen capital Jokhar (former Grozny). The Russians used massive artillery fire and helicopters in the battles against the Mujahideen during the last two days. As per Thursday night, the Mujahideen reported the martyrdom of 2 fighters as their casualties. The Command of the Eastern Front of the Caucasus Emirates' Armed Forces reported that 80 fighters are now engaged in battles against the Russian invaders in Vedeno district. The Russian invader troops were attacked by the Mujahideen on Wednesday.� Kavkaz Center

Baku may carry out a surgical strike against Yerevan?

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:10:45 GMT

Azerbaijan may not limited with Nagorno-Karabakh in case of renewal of hostilities, Heidar Jemal, the chairman of the Islamic Committee of Russia, told a news agency. According to him, Yerevan should understand that at this time, Azerbaijan could launch military actions not in Karabakh, but carry out pinpoint strikes against strategic military installations inside Armenia proper. "As a result, the Karabakh Armenians, left without Yerevan's support, wouldl quickly come to senses and go for talks to Baku", he said. But before that, the official Baku should get support from neighboring countries, a major diplomatic work with Iran should be done to squeeze Armenia from Iran's political sphere, Heydar Jemal noted. "And with maximum probability, Iran and Russia would not take any serious measures in case of an Azerbaijan's military operation. I think the factor of Russia and Iran is strongly exaggerated in the Karabakh conflict, since now it is not a situation that existed in the early 90's or even a few years ago. The Azerbaijan's advantages are obvious, and nobody wants to spoil its relations with Baku, directly obstructing the restoration of the sovereignty of Azerbaijan over its territory", Jemal said.� Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

Gun battles in Chechnya's Vedeno District. Invaders and puppets suffer casualties

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:30:47 GMT

Fightings are continuing for the second day near the village of Khaji-Aul, Vedeno District of Caucasus Emirate's Nokhchicho (AKA Chechnya / Ichkeria) Province, occupation sources report. In a course of action 3 puppet soldiers were eliminated and at least 2 others were wounded. These data was given by the command of Russian invaders. Saying so, the occupation sources claim that 1 fighter has been killed on the Mujahideen side. Russian sources with reference to their henchmen puppets have also reported that the detachment of Mujahideen in this area is up to 20 fighters. Meanwhile, Kavkaz Center's sources report that the joined gangs of Russian invaders and their local henchmen puppets are participating in fightings in Vedeno District. Occupiers are actively using military helicopters and artillery. It is reported that the fatalities among the invaders and minions are much higher than claimed of the invaders and their puppets. The Kavkaz Center's sources reported that at least 4 puppet soldiers had been eliminated on Wednesday morning.�Some puppets and Russian invaders were killed in subsequent clashes. It is reported that several corpses of dead puppets and a large number of wounded were brought to a hospital in Shali. The number of Mujahideen group is about 80 fighters. A Kavkaz Center's source indicated that the operation in this region had been initiated by the Mujahideen, and not by the invaders. According to specified data martyrdom (inshaAllah) of 2 Mujahideen has been confirmed so far. Kavkaz Center

Mujahideen attack puppet terrorists in Chechnya

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:39:30 GMT

A fight took place between a mobile group of the Mujahideen and Russian minions from the various gangs of the puppet forces near the village of Khaji-Aul, Vedeno District of Chechnya Province, Russian terrorists' media outlets reported. The minions conceal their casualties, as usual, and reported that presumably only one member of the Kadyrov's police gang had been eliminated by the Mujahideen. The Russian invaders say that the Mujahideen unit consisted of 20 fighters. Kavkaz Center

Azerbaijani authorities detain several natives of Chechnya and Dagestan, proclaiming them 'terrorists'

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:38:54 GMT

Source in Azerbaijan report that the Baku regime detained several natives of Dagestan and Chechnya, who allegedly brought to Azerbaijan "a load of weapons and drugs for preparation of a terrorist act in Baku". How those arrested planned to use drugs for the terrorist attack, the Azerbaijani authorities did not explain. "8 members of a religious extremist organization" were reportedly detained. The Azerbaijani authorities said that at least one of the young men was arrested in Balakan region of the country at the moment, "when he tried to transport weapons and drugs to Azerbaijan". Other details were not disclosed. Kavkaz Center

Brother of puppet policeman executed near Chechnya's border

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:40:23 GMT

Russian occupation sources report that 49-year-old resident of the village of Martan-Chu, Achkhoi-Martan district of Chechnya, has been captured by an armed group when he was picking wild garlic in woods, and later he was found dead in a mountainous woody area a few kilometers from the village. Sources of a Caucasian democrats' news agency in infidel gangs report that "on March 14, a resident of the village of Martan-Chu, along with two friends went to a forest to gather wild garlic, where they encountered two armed men in military uniforms, who demanded their ID cards. After checking their IDs, the two armed persons took one of them with them, and said go home to other two". Next morning, relatives of the detained man went to search for him and found his body with a gunshot in the head. The agency claims that the Martan-Chu's resident has been killed by the Mujahideen. The reason for his elimination, according to apostates, was the fact that his close relative is a member of the MIA gang. It is to be mentioned that Russian invaders and their minions often send their spies to the woods to seek for a base of Mujahideen under pretext of picking wild garlic, whom the Mujahideen usually do not touch. Kavkaz Center

Puppet bailiff executed in Chechen village

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:41:50 GMT

Russian terrorist' media outlets report that two armed masked men entered the house of a puppet bailiff in the village of Shalazhi on Tuesday night and executed him. The puppet's wife was in the house when the execution team came. The wife was removed from the room where the bailiff was executed. The woman did not suffer. Other details are not available. Kavkaz Center

The U.S. were ready to attack Russian troops in Georgia in August 2008

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:14:22 GMT

President George W. Bush and his senior aides considered - and rejected - a military response to Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia, according to a new history of the conflict and interviews with former officials in the Bush administration. With desperate Georgians begging for American help in closing down the key route through which Russian soldiers were pouring into the country, Bush's national security aides outlined possible responses, including "the bombardment and sealing of the Roki Tunnel" and other "surgical strikes". "In that moment of desperation these issues came onto the table, and came to the principals committee" consisting of Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and top Cabinet members, said Ron Asmus, a Clinton administration State Department official whose book, out last week, is called "The Little War That Shook the World." "There were people on [Vice President Dick] Cheney's staff and [National Security Adviser Stephen] Hadley's staff who said, �We can't let Georgia go down like this.'" Hadley, Asmus writes, thought the action too risky - but he formally raised the question with Bush, Cheney and other top officials in a meeting on Aug. 11 in order to prompt an "open discussion" and put Cheney and others on the record. "No principal advocated the use of force", said Asmus, who is now executive director of the Transatlantic Center in Brussels. Hadley, in an interview, declined to comment directly on the substance of conversations among the principals but confirmed that there had been consideration - and dismissal - of the use of force. "There was a discussion of, �Should we consider military action to achieve our objectives?' and the view was that that was not an attractive option," he said. "It was a long way away, and it would be a direct military confrontation with Russia." That the question arose at all is a mark of the scale of the crisis that appeared to burst out of nowhere in the summer of 2008 and of the continuing risks posed by a region of the world that draws little American public attention. US intelligence resources, Asmus reports, had largely been shifted away from the Caucasus, and despite rumblings from Russia, the US was taken by surprise by the timing of what began, in Asmus's telling, as a series of Russian provocations and escalated when Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili took the proffered bait, engaging separatist forces and then Russian soldiers who were nominally there as "peacekeepers." That triggered a massive Russian response, one that Georgians were essentially unable to resist once soldiers began pouring through the tunnel, the easiest pass through the Caucasus mountains. Senior American aides involved in discussions at the time recall a frantic atmosphere in which - despite pleas from Saakashvili and other top Georgian officials, who seemed at times to expect American military aid, though there's no evidence they were promised it - the limits of US action became clear. "As we played out these strands and talked about it, we had to be prepared for direct confrontation with Russian military forces - and was that something we were prepared to recommend to the president?" recalled Damon Wilson, the former senior director for European affairs at the National Security Council. "We came to the right decision, but it was an emotionally difficult decision". Joe Wood, the deputy assistant for national security affairs to the hawkish Cheney, was in Georgia shortly before the war broke out, but in the end he didn't advocate bombing the tunnel. He said he's still unsure "whether or not it should have been more seriously considered". "We will know the answer to that question in 10 to 20 years," he said. "If Russia continues to assert itself either militarily or through other coercive means to claim a sphere of influence, we will look back at this as a time that they were able to change boundaries in Europe without much reaction," he said. "And then we'll say we should have considered harder options." "If not, then not using military action in this case will probably turn out to have been good judgment," he said. Bush opted for a softer option but one that carried an implicit threat: He chose to send humanitarian supplies to Georgia by military, rather than civilian, aircraft. "We thought it was a useful signal to use military aircraft to transfer supplies and things into Georgia, and that was not lost on the Russians," Hadley said. Asmus's book opens debate on the meaning of the Georgia conflict, which has left Russia in effective control of the separatist province, even as the Obama administration closes in on a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the Moscow government. Asmus and some more hawkish former national security staffers believe that the conflict was the product of negligent American diplomacy and that it set a precedent for instability in Europe. Hadley defends the administration's performance and argues that the blame for the conflict lies wholly with Russia. Asmus argues that a series of Western mistakes signaled to Russia that it would be able to march into Georgia with impunity. Crucially, the NATO allies failed to agree, at a conference in Bucharest, Romania, on a concrete plan that would put Georgia and Ukraine on a path toward NATO membership. And, he argues, Bush never called Russia's top leaders to make clear that an invasion of Georgia would bring drastic consequences. As it was, the Russians seized control of much of the country and seemed poised to drive on to the capital, Tbilisi. A turning point, in Asmus's telling, came when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Aug. 10 that Saakashvili "had to go". By Rice's account, Asmus reports, she told Lavrov that such a demand was "completely unacceptable" and brushed off his protest that it was a "confidential conversation." "The Secretary of State of the United States and the Foreign Minister of Russia do not have a confidential conversation about the overthrow of a democratically elected government. I am about to get on the phone and tell everyone I can possibly find that Russia's war aim is the overthrow of the Georgian government," Asmus quotes her as saying. Under international pressure, Russia stopped short of accomplishing that goal, though the Georgian leader was badly weakened. And they left the White House arguing that it had done what it could. The message out of the NATO meeting in Bucharest was "as good a deterrence message as voting them into" a formal path to membership, said Hadley. Vladimir "Putin was under no illusions about our commitment to Georgia and our commitment to Saakashvili. We'd been sending Putin a message about Georgia ever since Saakashvili was elected president". Hadley places the blame for the incident squarely on the Russians and suggests that the emphasis in President Barack Obama's attempt to "reset" relations with Russia had been a bit misplaced. "The reason there had to be a reset is not because of the Bush administration policies", he said. "The reason there had to be a reset is because Russia invaded Georgia." Department of Monitoring, Kavkaz Center

EXCLUSIVE. 7 Russian GRU terrorists eliminated and wounded in Chechnya

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:01:49 GMT

A correspondent of the Kavkaz Center news agency reported from Chechnya about�a battle�that took place in the area of the village Bamut in Achkhoi-Martan district, Province Chechnya of the Caucasus Emirate, between the Mujahideen and Russian invaders from the Russian terrorist group of GRU (military intelligence) special troops on Sunday and Monday, March 13 and March 14. The KC correspondent reported�with reference to interception of Russian�troops radio communications that at least 4 to 5 Russian soldiers had been eliminated and 2 others wounded by the Mujahideen. One Mujahid was also slightly wounded in his shoulder. The Russians used military helicopters in the battle. Kavkaz Center

Russian FSB terrorists ambushed in Chechnya

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:01:18 GMT

On Monday, March 15, the Mujahideen of the Caucasus Emirate ambushed Russian terrorists from the FSB in the area of village Yandi in Achkhoi-Martan district of Province Chechnya. The Mujahideen fired on a Russian terrorists' vehicle with small arms. There are no figures on Russian fatalities and casualties. Russian media outlets said there had been 2 FSB terrorist officers in the vehicle "zhiguli" and a driver had been wounded. The Russians always underestimate their fatalities and casualties in battles with the Mujahideen of the Emirate Caucasus. Kavkaz Center

Grozny: rebuilt, fearful and (almost) forgotten by the West

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:34:06 GMT

The year 2010 is already well under way. Spring is not far off, but the centre of Grozny is still bathed in the New Year illuminations. It's about 9 in the evening and a friend from "Memorial" and I, both here for work, are walking along the main street, which is today called Putin Prospect. Multi-coloured fairy lights twinkle and shop windows blaze. We are faced with a very complicated problem: we need to buy a pair of tights. The shops are still open, but the purchase turns out to be an unreal quest. The place is awash in foreign cosmetics. Posh leather, bags, coats, boots - take your pick, though when you see the prices you have to pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming. But when you ask for a pair of tights, the young sales girls titter disdainfully, tapping their stiletto heels on the highly polished floor impatiently. Putin Prospect is clearly not meant for people with everyday needs. We lose heart and go into a dark café, where we sit down on a comfortable red sofa and have a coffee. Pop music is playing, but not too loud, and bright images flash across the huge, modern flat screen TV. There's a choice of espresso, cappuccino, mocha, latte or Viennese coffee with whipped cream. As we sip the hot foam out of china cups, for a moment we lose any sense of where we are. The stored memories of years bear no relation to the Chechen capital today. Grozny is now a completely different city. But, most important, Natasha isn't here. Coming to terms with this is proving completely impossible. For those of us who came to Grozny to work, Memorial's Natasha Estemirova was an integral part of both the work and the city. We stayed at her flat and spent whole nights sitting up in the kitchen talking. We helped her little daughter with homework, rushed all over Chechnya together, spent nights in villages and tried to heave out of the impassable mud our car that had got stuck there. Now, as we wander about the city, we seem to see Natasha's perennial black coat just round the corner or hear her rapid, impatient talk. We have to wrench ourselves back to the present so as not to call out to her. How can Natasha be here if two hours ago we were standing in the Koshkeldi village cemetery and, following local tradition, putting our palms on the snowy mound so that up there in heaven the dead person would somehow feel our touch and know that she isn't forgotten? She can't be here, because when we got back from the cemetery we suddenly realised that it was exactly 7 months ago that she was killed. We'll never see her, never hear her again or spend the night in the one bedroom on the tenth floor of that high-rise in Hippodrome Street. We can't bear to go back there. This was where Natasha was bundled into a car, right at the bus stop, and driven away to be shot.... On 28 February she would have been 52, but this birthday went uncelebrated. We ought to go back to Grozny, ought to try and get used to working there without Natasha and stop looking for her silhouette. And it's not only Natasha who isn't there: several close friends and relatives had to be sent abroad quickly, because they themselves were under threat. For us the new Grozny without so many dear friends has become a ghost town, more terrible somehow than when it lay in ruins. We come out of the café and go to meet another �guest� of Grozny, who by sheer coincidence is in the city at the same time. Lord Judd, all the way from Britain, is waiting for us in the recently completed new hotel Arena City. Frank Judd is an iconic figure in these parts. From 1999 to 2003 he was rapporteur on the situation in Chechnya for the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE). During that period Lord Judd, with commendable enthusiasm, came to war-torn Grozny nine times. He had meetings with victims and civil activists, people from �Memorial� and, indeed, with Natasha.... Judd accused Russia of some of the worst human rights violations that were the hallmark of that war: kidnapping, murdering civilians and torture. In 2003 the Kremlin carried out a referendum in Chechnya on the new constitution, which would confirm the country as a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. Judd declared that the vote had been rigged: of all the people he had seen �no one had even read the draft Constitution�, people were herded into the polling stations by force, often simply putting their signature on the voting paper. At that point Lord Judd stood down as a sign of protest. Since then he has tried to come to Chechnya many times, but the Russian authorities have not seen fit to let him do so. Now, after 7 years, he has managed to get to Grozny as the head of a tiny delegation from the UK Parliament. Lord Judd and his parliamentary colleagues have already been driven through the brightly lit city centre and are animatedly discussing their impressions. It's one thing to hear about the reconstruction of Chechnya, but quite another to see it for real. Still, the exalted guests are not interested in the miracles of reconstruction only, so for the next three hours we try to answer all their questions. Judd continued to follow events in the region even though he stopped coming here. Last year he said on Radio Liberty: �If there is some kind of stability there, it's the stability of tyranny: Chechnya is still awash with fear, anxiety and intimidation..�. Now he wouldn't mind being disabused of some of these unflattering opinions, but we have no grounds for that. We tell him about the paralysing fear, that people are afraid to say anything against the authorities and that on the whole relatives of people kidnapped by law enforcement and security agencies under President Kadyrov's de facto control no longer even complain because any attempt to seek justice by talking to journalists or appealing to the General Prosecutor can have irreversible consequences for the whole family. Members of alleged militants' families are persecuted. They are beaten up, their houses burnt down and their sons kidnapped. Collective punishment and extrajudicial executions are promoted on Chechen TV by the highest-ranking officials in the republic. We talk of �Memorial� and how the organisation has been courageous enough to speak out about these crimes. Local authorities heap vicious criticism on it. The Human Rights Ombudsman for Chechnya is particularly vitriolic. We try to explain about the total legal vacuum and the situation where the only rules that work are the President's. The federal centre turns a blind eye to his oral instructions that contravene Russian legislation. Investigators from the prosecutor's office working on abduction cases tend to refuse to question rank-and-file servicemen of the Oil Regiment or the Patrol and Inspection Brigade, which are known as particularly close to the president. The reason given is that the servicemen wouldn't show up anyway and might even beat up the investigators for daring to summon them in the first place. Last November �Memorial�, which had suspended work in Chechnya after Natasha was murdered, was trying to decide whether it should reopen its office there. Russian human rights organisations started sending people to Grozny to work in a coordinated mobile group on a shift system. People came in on rotation from various regions of Russia. They undertook the most dangerous case, just like the ones that Natasha had been working on. The group's help enabled �Memorial� to open up again with some sort of support on the ground. It is dealing with six ongoing cases, all to do with people who disappeared in the second half of 2009. It carries out independent investigations and demands that essential investigative work be done by competent authorities. It goes to court to fight illegal refusals to appeals and tries to protect clients who have taken the risk of fighting a legal battle to find out what happened to their disappeared relatives. We promise to bring some of these to people to meet the good Lord Judd and his colleagues the next day, so they can see for themselves and hear it from the horse's mouth, as it were. Most important, the British parliamentarians are meeting Ramzan Kadyrov tomorrow evening, so they will be able to ask him specific questions about these cases. One of the cases involves the top brass of the infamous Oil Regiment and another the Shali District Department of Internal Affairs. Just about a week ago, the leadership of the Shali police detained three members of the coordinated mobile group and kept them hanging about all night with questions about what they were actually doing in Chechnya and why they were poking their noses into other people's business. The third case concerns the disappearance of Anti Zeylanov, who was accidentally discovered by his relatives in Achkhoi-Maratan Hospital with gunshot wounds and hastily removed by unidentified law-enforcement officials to an unknown location. Natasha Estemirova was working on this case during the last week of her life. Another case is that of a local staff member of the Danish Refugee Council, Zarema Gaisanova, who was kidnapped and disappeared at the time of the special operation in Grozny which, according to official police reports, was personally supervised by the President. The British parliamentarians' programme was changed at the last moment, most probably not by chance. They rang up and asked us to make the meetings with the relatives in the �Memorial� office several hours earlier. We somehow managed to get everyone there. The women were crying and asking for something to be done and for the issue to be raised in conversation with Kadyrov. Kidnap victims are sometimes released after several months, so their hope is that perhaps their children are still alive. Seventy-year old Danilbek Askhabov was beaten up by the Shali police right in the village square. He was presented with the bloody corpse of his son, who had been shot for being a militant, and he refused to disown him. Two months later, in August 2009, members of the secret service took away his second son, Abdul-Ezit, who also disappeared. �He's partially sighted, almost blind. He couldn't possibly be involved in anything. What did they take him for?� asked the old man, with eyes only for Judd, a man the same age as himself. �If I'm completely honest, I think the West has a lot to do with it. Do you know why? Because the West turned a blind eye to all this from the beginning of the war. It continues to do so now and gives us no protection. After all, it's your responsibility too. Help us - or take us all away from here..� Lord Judd made no promises to take anyone away, which would be outside his sphere of competence, but he did promise that he would discuss what he had heard with the President and that he would talk tough. But there was no talk. Ramzan Kadyrov suddenly cancelled his meeting with the British visitors. He was obviously too busy for unpleasant questions. By Tanya Lokshina, Deputy Director, HRW Moscow office Source: Human Rights Watch Kavkaz Center