Россия Поддержала Критическую Резолюцию ПАСЕ По Кавказу

Россия впервые за 14 лет поддержала резолюцию Парламентской ассамблеи Совета Европы (ПАСЕ), в которой выражена озабоченность нарушениями прав человека в Чечне, Ингушетии и Дагестане.

ПАСЕ во вторник приняла резолюцию, основанную на докладе швейцарского парламентария Дика Марти, а российская делегация высказалась в его поддержку.

Марти, более всего известный расследованиями скандала вокруг секретных тюрем ЦРУ в середине 2000-х годов, весной объездил Чечню, Ингушетию, Дагестан и другие республики российского Северного Кавказа, фиксируя сообщения о пытках, убийствах и исчезновениях людей.

Помимо обсуждения доклада и голосования по проекту резолюции, в котором ПАСЕ, среди прочего, призывает Россию бороться с терроризмом методами правового государства и привлечь к ответственности всех виновных в нарушениях прав человека, в ассамблее состоялось выступление президента Ингушетии Юнус-Бека Евкурова.

Глава российской делегации в ПАСЕ Константин Косачев отметил, что доклад Марти “достаточно честный” и в нем “нет попыток навязать схемы нормализации ситуации на Северном Кавказе”.

Provisional Government Blames the Media for Southern Kyrgyzstan Violence

Kyrgyz officials are complaining bitterly about what they claim is biased western media coverage of the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, which has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands. Allegedly slanted reporting, provisional leaders add, helped fan unrest and spread negative stereotypes about ethnic Kyrgyz.

Journalists rushed to Osh, the scene of the most severe Uzbek-Kyrgyz clashes on June 11-14. Western reporting found clear evidence of atrocities committed by both sides. Western reports also found that a vast majority of casualties comprised Uzbeks, and that Uzbek neighborhoods appeared to suffer more damage than did Kyrgyz areas of the city.

Provisional leaders insist that members of former president Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s family stoked the violence out of a desire to keep Kyrgyzstan unstable. Maxim Bakiyev, a son of the former president, has denied the allegation. Rights groups have called for an independent investigation into the violence. The provisional government has so far resisted the idea, contending that it will carry out its own investigation.

“International media, especially western media, has covered events in a one-sided manner, saying that the Kyrgyz people have organized a genocide against the Uzbeks. That’s absolutely not true,” Deputy Health Minister Kasymbek Mambetov

Латвия: Особый Подход К Жителям Дагестана И Ингушетии При Получении Виз

Латвийские правоохранительные органы при выдаче виз и видов на жительство будут более тщательно проверять претендентов, родившихся или проживающих в Ингушетии и Дагестане.

Требование проводить дополнительную проверку жителей этих двух республик было инициативой Полицией безопасности страны. Таким образом, жители Ингушетии и Дагестана приравнены к жителям 29 стран, среди которых: Афганистан, Ирак, Иран, Тунис, Сомали, Сирия, Кения, Кувейт и Палестинская автономия. Подданные этих стран тоже подлежат дополнительной проверке.

Senior United Russia Deputy Endorses Critical Report on Caucasus

The report by the Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly says the North Caucasus constitutes the most serious situation in the entire geographical area covered by the organization.

The document accuses authorities in Chechnya of maintaining a climate of fear while government opponents and human rights activists have disappeared. It also points to worrying killings of journalists in Ingushetia and warns that rising extremist violence jeopardizes stability in Dagestan.

Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the Russian delegation to the assembly and a senior member of United Russia, said the report was fairly objective. “It was prepared in cooperation with us. There was no attempt to morally lecture or to impose an outside view on us.”

Alison Gill, head of Human Rights Watch’s Moscow office:“It is unprecedented that this report is endorsed by the Russian delegation.”
Much of the report discusses abductions and killings of opponents of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Russia’s FSB To Offer Rewards For Terrorism Information

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) will offer monetary rewards to people who pass on information about suspected terrorist activity.

The draft order says monetary rewards will be offered for any information on suspected terrorist attacks and their organizers. The reward will, however, only be given if the information leads to the capture of a terrorist or the prevention of a terrorist attack.

The order did not define how much the FSB is prepared to pay for such information, but said rewards will be calculated for each case individually, depending on the quality of the information and the results it yields.

PACE Urges Russia To Fight Terrorism ‘In Line With Human Rights’

The Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) has urged Russia to fight terrorism in the North Caucasus by “respecting fundamental rights and the tenets of the rule of law”.

In a resolution unanimously approved based on a report by Dick Marty (Switzerland, ALDE), the Assembly expressed “compassion and solidarity” with the families of those who had suffered terrorist attacks, but said the human rights situation in the North Caucasus was “the most serious and most delicate” in the whole Council of Europe area. The parliamentarians noted:

– in the Chechen Republic, despite impressive reconstruction efforts, “a climate of pervading fear”, disappearances of government opponents and human rights defenders, reprisals against the families of suspected fighters, and intimidation of the media and civil society, all in an atmosphere of “personalisation of power”;

– in Ingushetia, the growth of “constructive dialogue” with civil society since the appointment of the new President, but also an alarming upsurge of violence since 2009, including murders and disappearances;

– in Dagestan, an outbreak of fresh terrorist acts, prompting responses from the security forces which “were not always lawful and productive”, putting in peril the admirable age-old tradition of peaceable religious cohabitation there.

In their resolution, the parliamentarians pointed out that the European Court of Human Rights had been compelled to assume a role of “last-ditch protection” for many victims in the region, finding grave and repeated violations of fundamental rights which illustrate a “climate of impunity”. This and the passiveness of the authorities undermine the population’s trust in the security forces and “feed the nefarious spiral of violence,” they said.

They also said there were strong indications that the Chechen power, or at least circles close to it, were directly implicated in the murder of Umar Israilov on the streets of Vienna.

They recommended that the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers directly monitor Russia’s commitments as regards the situation in the North Caucasus.

Kyrgyz Pogrom Is International Disgrace

Why didn’t the international community act to contain the violence?

Latest estimates place the number of people displaced by the violence at over 400,000. While the official death toll is still less than two hundred, Acting president Roza Otunbayeva admitted that it could be as high as 2,000.
Some sort of counterrevolution has been expected since the previous government was toppled by a popular uprising in April. At least four attempts at creating similar disturbances have been reported in the capital, Bishkek, over the last few months, including the burning of houses in a Turkish quarter.

That Otunbayeva’s pleas for assistance to help restore peace in Osh and Jalal-Abad were rebuffed is a shocking indictment of an international community that speaks of protecting the vulnerable.

It is inconceivable that bodies like the UN were caught unprepared. Little regarded by most, this desperately poor country is well-known by world leaders because of its strategic importance and unique position as the only country to host both a US and a Russian airbase. But while vested interests fiddled, the innocent burned. There are now fears in Bishkek that agent provocateurs will strike again while government forces are diverted to Osh and Jalal-Abad in the south. A neutral force is needed not just to keep the peace, but to distribute aid in areas where Uzbeks don’t trust Kyrgyz volunteers and are refusing them access.

Uzbekistan : Over 7,000 Refugees Return to Kyrgyzstan

The situation on the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border had stabilized and no accidents had been recorded. Border police had recorded a total of 7,398 refugees crossing the border at several crossing points.

Violent clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek groups broke out in the southern Kyrgyz city of Osh on June 11, lasting several days and spreading to neighboring Jalalabad region. Official figures say nearly 200 were killed in the clashes and more than 2,000 were injured, however Kyrgyz leaders admit that the real death toll could be 10 times higher.

UNICEF says over 100,000 refugees fled to nearby Uzbekistan during the clashes, with 90% made up of the elderly, women and children.The Osh regional authorities have registered 168 burnt out buildings since June 11.

The state of emergency in Osh has been extended until June 25, while in Jalalabad, where the curfew has already been shortened, it is due to end on June 22.

My Daughter Village Schoolteacher = Terrorist or Victim?

What would motivate a young, successful and well-educated woman to kill herself and others?

On Sunday 28 March 2010, 27-year-old Mariam Sharipova set off from her home in the remote village of Balakhani, high in the mountains of Dagestan. Around 7am, as the rush hour was getting under way, Mariam entered the metro. She travelled to Lubyanka station in central Moscow, a stroll from Red Square. And then, at 7.56am, she blew herself up in the second carriage, just as the doors were opening, killing herself and 26 others.

Her father Rasul finds it impossible to believe that his daughter was a suicide bomber. “I don’t know what happened. We, too, are seeking answers. She knows. Allah knows. That’s it.” … “She was self-confident, someone who defined clear goals, and who wanted to achieve them.”….He is convinced Mariam may have been abducted in Makhachkala – either by Russia’s intelligence agencies, or by other shadowy forces interested in plunging Dagestan into a bloody, Chechen-style war. He claims he realised something was seriously wrong only on 1 April, when his daughter failed to return home for the new school term……..

In the days after the metro attacks, police leaked ghoulish photos showing the heads of the two women bombers. Rasul immediately recognised the first bomber as his daughter. The bruises on her right cheek aren’t consistent with suicide explosions, he believes, and indicate that in the hours immediately before her death, someone had tortured her. “The bruises would have had to be inflicted three to four hours before the incident,” he says. “Why is this? The investigation can’t answer this question.”..

Last month, investigators said they had discovered an apartment in Moscow where three male accomplices had prepared the women for their mission. They said all three had been shot dead by police after “putting up resistance”…..

It is impossible to establish a definitive version of what happened. The authorities have failed to provide any proof or supporting evidence to explain the Moscow bombings, adding another layer of complexity to an already murky episode. In addition, law enforcement agents frequently do kidnap innocent civilians. Many are never seen again.

Kyrgyzstan: Human Rights Advocate Arrested And Tortured

On June 15, 2010 the police officers detained prominent human rights defender and lawyer Azimzhan Askarov in Bazar-Korgon (the regional center of the Jalal-Abad Oblast of Kyrgyzstan). The officials framed up a case against him, trying to accuse of organization of mass riots and also put Askarov on torture.

Askarov, the head of Vozduh human rights bureau, documented the violence acts in Bazar-Korgon in June of 2010, gathered information and shot videos of many important episodes in this district. On June 13, 2010 he informed over the phone that he witnessed the pogrom-makers opening fire at unarmed civilians that came for negotiations; allegedly, the armed police officers accompanied the looters, not trying to stop the arson and devastation. According to Askarov’s brother, which spent three days with him in single ward and was released today, Askarov was tortured on daily basis. He was demanded to point out the place where he kept his camera and videos. After the tortures Askarov asked to inform that he may not survive until the court session.

The arrest warrant must be issued by the court within 48 hours since the detention. However, it turned out that law enforcement bodies falsified the detention protocol, indicating that Askarov was detained on June 16.

Interim President Of Kyrgyzstan: 400,000 People Fled Since 10 June

Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader Rosa Otunbayeva said that there could be as 2 000 death as a result of ethnic violence in the south of the country.
Otunbayeva said that the hundreds of thousands of Uzbek refugees would be allowed to return home.

Some 400,000 people out of Kyrgyzstan’s population of 5.3 million have fled since 10 June, some to refugee camps in neighbouring Uzbekistan.
On the Uzbek side of the border the authorities set up more orderly camps to house about 100,000 people.

“Osh residents are in urgent need of protection and humanitarian assistance,” Human Rights Watch said. “The tense security situation, barricades and checkpoints have significantly limited distribution of aid, medical supplies and access to medical treatment.”

The government hopes to stick to its plan to hold a constitutional referendum on 27 June.
Otunbayeva, whose government has not been formally elected, has accused Bakiyev of organising gangs of armed men to shoot at both Uzbeks and Kyrgyz to ignite ethnic violence in the south, Bakiyev’s traditional stronghold.

Azerbaijan: 31 Persons Accused Of Terrorism Sentenced To Imprisonment

On June 17, at the Court for Grave Crimes of Azerbaijan, where the trial on the case of a group of citizen of the republic, accused of terrorism and attempt to overthrow the power, some of the defendants stated their innocence.

Defendants Emin Dzhami, Vusal Isaev, Elnur Gaziev and some others rejected any lawyer’s services whatsoever. “We have no money to hire advocates; and we have no trust in those appointed by the state.

And in general, in the Azerbaijani judicial system it’s senseless to hire advocates, as the courts all the same fulfil orders of the investigation,” a relative of one of the defendants, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Tajikistan Will Accept Refugess from Kyrgyzstan

“The Tajik authorities have notified the United Nations that they are ready to help their Kyrgyz brothers if the situation worsens and people start crossing the border. In any event, Tajikistan should make preparations to accept refugees from Kyrgyzstan.” ” said Ilija Todorovic, the representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

He said the situation in southern Kyrgyzstan was volatile and a certain number of refugees would probably move into Tajikistan.

Dans L’enfer Des Prisons Russes – 11 y décèdent chaque jour en prison

Si la peine de mort n’est plus appliquée en Russie depuis 1996, onze personnes y décèdent chaque jour en prison. L’information vient du parquet russe. En 2009, 4 150 prisonniers sont morts des suites de maladies diverses, dont 521 dans les centres de détention préventive de la Fédération. Rien qu’à Moscou, 55 prévenus sont morts en 2009, faute de soins. Et la série noire continue : dimanche 6 juin, Igor Kotroutsa, un Moldave de 22 ans, a été retrouvé mort dans sa cellule de la maison d’arrêt n°4 à Moscou : arrêt cardiaque. Même diagnostic pour Andreï Safronov, décédé dans la même prison le 13 mai.

Tout comme Véra Trifonova, 53 ans, morte en préventive le 30 avril. Il y a aussi Sergueï Magnitski, 37 ans, l’avocat du Fonds d’investissement britannique Hermitage Capital, décédé d’une cholécystite le 16 novembre 2009, au douzième mois de sa détention provisoire, officiellement pour “fraude fiscale”..

L’espoir a surgi lorsque le président “juriste”, Dmitri Medvedev, a fait modifier la loi. Depuis mars 2010, les personnes accusées de crimes économiques peuvent être libérées sous caution. Mais la loi n’est guère appliquée. La preuve, mercredi 9 juin, le tribunal de Moscou a refusé de libérer sous caution Evgueni Martynenko, un homme d’affaires accusé d’escroquerie.

We Need Peacekeepers, Otherwise There Will Be A Sea Of Blood’

In the damaged city of Osh, the only Uzbeks to be found were men. They had sent away the elderly, the women and the young to the border with Uzbekistan and remained behind to defend their homes against marauding Kyrgyz mobs they blame for attacks that have left at least 189 dead.

“No one’s defending us; we need UN peacekeepers, otherwise there will be a sea of blood,” said Khamidjon, a middle-aged Uzbek man, who had gathered with about 45 of his ethnic kin in the so-far undamaged railway neighbourhood of the city. “Supplies are running out, humanitarian aid is not reaching us.”

Several tanks rolled through the city of Osh yesterday and soldiers manned checkpoints at the airport and on the road to the border to try to prevent further attacks on the Uzbek population. But the Uzbeks, who accuse the troops of being complicit in attacks on their community, had made their own limited preparations.
They have built barricades to try to prevent unwanted intruders. A small group of men armed with automatic weapons is overseeing the defences of their 70 or so homes. And the rest, have built up a cache of their own weapons – a pile of rocks and stones.