04.2008 - Source: Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation

Local NGOs have severe financial problems, so their number might diminish to one or two by 2009; due to political issues, work of international NGOs has turned into permanent struggle for existence ("Summary of the ACCORD-UNHCR Country of Origin Information Seminar on Chechnya; Vienna, 18 October 2007") [ID 22957]

"The situation of NGOs in Russia, especially in Chechnya, is not very auspicious. Local NGOs have severe financial problems, so their number might diminish to one or two by 2009. International NGOs are usually better funded than local ones, but their activities and movements are restricted mainly by the so-called NGO law.

A federal decree which was passed in 1992 restricts movement of international organisations to certain areas within Russia. The no-go areas are said to be infiltrated with "terrorists". This decree had an amendment in January 2006, adding new dangerous regions which include North Ossetia, where UNHCR has a Sub-Office in the city of Vladikavkaz.

In 2005 President Putin enacted the NGO law, according to which humanitarian organisations have to register in Russia by including every single location they want to go to in their visa application. The security staff in Russia checks the visa, which is put into the passport, and will immediately see on the computers if the person has applied for the respective location or not. In case organizations have not applied for a place, they are sent back. In addition, the Russian government insists that NGOs regularly submit their work schedules for the following 30 days, apply for clearance seven days in advance before moving to a specific place. NGOs also have to accept long detours in order to avoid prohibited zones. In addition, any foreign organisation can recruit staff members who have been cleared by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Due to these primarily political issues, international NGOs’ work in Russia has turned into a permanent struggle for existence. The ICRC reports difficulties in implementing its mandate of detention monitoring. As a consequence, NGOs might gradually leave the region, not only due to lack of donor interest, but also due to the restrictions imposed on them."

Document(s): Open document

11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Bulat Chilayev, employee of NGO Civic Assistance, and Aslan Israilov killed after being detained at checkpoint in April 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22597]

"In April 2006 Bulat Chilayev, an employee of the NGO Civic Assistance, and Aslan Israilov disappeared and were later reported killed after being detained at a checkpoint near the village of Sernovodsk by armed men thought to be members of the Chechen Republic security forces. According to Civic Assistance, investigators found identification at the site of the kidnapping belonging to a member of a Chechen unit attached to the Ministry of Defense. Both men were reported to have been killed on the day they were detained."

Document(s): Open document

06.2007 - Source: Freedom House

NGOs face increasing Russian government criticism and pressure; human rights groups that deal with sensitive issues such as torture and abuse have particularly been subjected to growing scrutiny by authorities ("Freedom in the World 2007") [ID 20659]

"Some charitable nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working on humanitarian, cultural, and social issues are allowed to operate, but they face increasing Russian government criticism and pressure. Human rights groups, particularly those that deal with sensitive issues such as torture and other forms of abuse by police and the security services, have been subjected to growing scrutiny by the authorities. In 2006, the federal government introduced extensive reporting requirements, greatly increasing the workload for NGOs. The International Committee of the Red Cross in September 2004 suspended its visits to detainees because there were too many obstacles to conducting them properly. Attempts to resume the visits in 2006 failed. Kadyrov suspended the activities of the Danish Refugee Council for several weeks in February and March 2006 to protest the publication of Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. In October of that year, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak, postponed a planned visit because the Russian government would not let him make unannounced trips to detention centers or interview detainees in private. Also that month, the authorities closed the Nizhny Novgorod–based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a humanitarian organization involved in building mutual understanding between Russians and Chechens and monitoring human rights abuses in the republic. Labor union activity is almost nonexistent as a result of the devastation of the Chechen economy and widespread unemployment."

Document(s): Open document

01.2007 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

New NGO-law makes it harder for non-Chechen human rights activists to get access to information about Chechnya; order of Chechen interior ministry in June 2006 that trips to Chechnya have to be reported to police and FSB in advance ("Nordkaukasus; Entwicklungen in Tschetschenien sowie in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkarien, Inguschetien und Nordossetien") [ID 18667]

"In der gesamten Russischen Föderation ist im April 2006 das so genannte neue NGO-Gesetz (Gesetz Nr. 18-FS) in Kraft getreten.. (..) Behördliche Schikanen, die bereits zuvor in der Praxis häufig waren, haben mit diesem Gesetz eine gesetzliche Grundlage erhalten. Was sogar bei etablierten Organisationen wie den «Soldatenmüttern von St. Petersburg» zu einem existenzbedrohenden Mehraufwand führt, bedeutet für viele junge tschetschenische Nichtregierungsorganisationen den Todesstoss. Gleichzeitig wird es für nicht-tschetschenische MenschenrechtsaktivistInnen und Juristen noch schwieriger, überhaupt an Informationen aus Tschetschenien zu kommen. Am 2. Juni 2006 befahl das tschetschenische Innenministerium allen Menschenrechts- und Hilfsorganisationen, Fahrten nach Tschetschenien im Voraus der Polizei und dem Inlandgeheimdienst FSB zu melden. Doch bürokratische Schikanen sind das eine, physische Bedrohung ist das andere: Die Angst unter MenschenrechtsaktivistInnen in Russland – und ganz besonders in Tschetschenien – steigt, wie ein Bericht der International Federation for Human Rights ausführlich belegt. Besonderes Aufsehen hat im vergangenen Jahr der Fall der Menschenrechtsorganisation Gesellschaft für russisch-tschetschenische Freundschaft erregt (…)"

Document(s): Open document

01.2007 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Rightist extremist group published list on the internet containing 89 “national traitors” and called to kill these people; first on the list is human rights defender Svetlana Gannushkina ("Nordkaukasus; Entwicklungen in Tschetschenien sowie in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkarien, Inguschetien und Nordossetien") [ID 18678]

"Wenn gleichzeitig die rechtsextreme Gruppierung "Russischer Wille" im Internet eine Liste mit 89 "LandesverräterInnen" und "Freunden des Auslands" publiziert – an der Spitze der Liste steht die russische Menschenrechtlerin Svetalana Gannuschkina, die sich u.a. für die tschetschenische Bevölkerung ausserhalb Tschetscheniens einsetzt –, mit der Aufforderung, diese Leute umzubringen, so ist das für die Betroffenen eine ernst zu nehmende Bedrohung."

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Court Orders Closure of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society that strongly criticized human rights abuses in Chechnya ("Russia: Court Orders Closure of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society") [ID 17316]

"The decision by a Russian court to close the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society today is a blatant attempt to silence a strong critic of human rights abuses in Chechnya, Human Rights Watch said. The ruling represents only the latest in several government attempts to silence the group and harass its leader."

Document(s): Open document

13.10.2006 - Source: Committee to Protect Journalists

Human rights group "Russian-Chechen Friendship Society" (RCFS) closed; RCFS publishes online newspaper, regarded as one of few reliable sources of news on Chechnya ("CPJ fears silencing of critical Web site on Chechnya") [ID 17526]

Document(s): Open document

06.09.2006 - Source: Freedom House

NGOs under increasing Russian government pressure; union activity almost non-existent due to devastation of economy and widespread unemployment ("The Worst of the Worst: The World's Most Repressive Societies 2006") [ID 17259]

"Some charitable nongovernmental organizations working on humanitarian, cultural, and social issues are allowed to operate, but they are under increasing Russian government criticism and pressure. Human rights groups, particularly those that deal with sensitive issues such as torture and other forms of abuse by police and the security services, have been subjected to increasing scrutiny by the authorities. In April, the authorities initiated proceedings to close down the Nizhniy Novgorod–based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a humanitarian organization involved in increasing mutual understanding between Russians and Chechens and monitoring human rights abuses in the republic. In the past, the society had been subjected to harassment by the authorities, including break-ins, confiscation of equipment, and the beating of activists. Union activity is almost non-existent due to the devastation of the republic’s economy and widespread unemployment."

Document(s): Open document

11.04.2006 - Source: Prima News

Worker of humanitarian organization "Civil Assistance Committee” detained without explanation; his whereabouts are unknown ("Humanitarian worker detained in Chechnya") [#49135],  [ID 16080]

Document(s): Open document

29.03.2006 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

3 main catalysts for worsening of situation for human rights defenders: "Chechenization", spreading of conflict to other regions of Northern Caucasus, after 2003 election loss of mandate for deputies of state Duma who had supported human rights defenders ("The Assault on Human Rights Defenders in the Russian Federation, Belarus and Uzbekistan: Restrictive Legislation and Bad Practices") [#48254],  [ID 16081]

"There are three main catalysts that have contributed to the worsening situation for human rights defenders in Chechnya and Ingushetia: Primarily, after the late President Akhmat Kadyrov established powerful and brutal local security organs in Chechnya,(with the consent and support of the federal center) there was increasing (“chechenization”)causing these security organs to be increasingly threatening the local human rights defenders community. While previously it was mainly federal forces that persecuted activists, now Chechen security forces are the ones that resort to abuse. Secondly, the abusive patterns have spread more and more to the neighboring Ingushetia and Dagestan as well as the nearby North Ossetia and Kabardino Balkaria, which were previously considered relatively safe. After Ruslan Auschev stepped down as the president of Ingushetia in 2002, the human rights and security situation worsened significantly in Ingushetia, especially with efforts to force Chechen IDPs to return to Chechnya. Local human rights defenders were increasingly targeted by the authoritiesfollowing the large-scale attacks by armed insurgents in Ingushetia in June 2004, leaving about one hundred people dead.. The final catalyst was after the 2003 election, when most influential deputies of the state Duma who had provided support to human rights defenders lost their mandates leaving local activists with little support in Moscow."

Document(s): Open document

29.03.2006 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) one of main targets of persecution, 4 associates killed during war, numerous harassed; members of other NGOs also targeted ("The Assault on Human Rights Defenders in the Russian Federation, Belarus and Uzbekistan: Restrictive Legislation and Bad Practices") [#48254],  [ID 16082]

"The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), an NGO based in Nizhny Novgorod and Chechnya/Ingushetia, has been one of the main targets of the persecution. It works with humanitarian issues and maintains a network of “human rights correspondents” whose information is published on a website and in a newspaper. Four RCFS associates have been killed during the second Chechen war and numerous others have been harassed, arrested, abducted, and threatened. RCFS offices in various towns have been raided and inspected by different authorities on a variety of grounds, all of which seem to be clear attempts to harass the RCFS. (...) Members of other human rights NGOs have also been targeted, including those of “Memorial.” On several occasions they have been intimidated, threatened to be killed, followed by cars, or “warned” that they are wanted by the security services or are in danger of disappearing."

Document(s): Open document

17.03.2006 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Chechnya: Nephew of chairman of Checheno-Ingush regional branch of Russian-Chechen Friendship Society kidnapped by security forces ("Kidnapping and “disappearance” of Arthur Ezhiev (born 1970), inhabitant of village Serzhen-Yurt (Shali District, Chechen Republic)") [#47247],  [ID 16083]

"He was taken away on 15 March 2006 at around 7 pm by a group of armed persons who evidently belong to the security structures subordinated to the prime minister of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. Unofficial sources indicate that he is kept by orders of the military commander Magomed Israpilov in the premises of the police station (ROVD) in Argun. Arthur Ezhiev is a nephew of the chairman of the Checheno-Ingush regional branch of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Imran Ezhiev. Together with his brother and his uncle, Arthur was involved in helping people searching for their “disappeared” relatives and was also involved in rendering humanitarian help to Chechen refugees living in Ingushetia."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Murad Muradov, the director of the Chechen NGO "Let's Save the Generation" detained by security forces on April 15, 2005 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16084]

"On April 15, security forces detained Murad Muradov, the director of the Chechen NGO "Let's Save the Generation" during a firefight between federal forces and Chechen fighters in Groznyy. According to human rights groups, Muradov was detained because he lived near the apartment where rebels were hiding. His whereabouts are unknown."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Authorities continued to target the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS); in January 2004 human rights activist Aslan Davletukayev from RCFS was kidnapped, tortured, and killed ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16085]

"The authorities continued to target the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS). The RCFS has urged negotiations with Chechen separatists to settle the conflict and has reported on human rights abuses by security forces. RCFS offices in Nizhniy Novgorod were raided in January and separate criminal and tax cases were opened against RCFS' executive director and the organization (see section 4). In January 2004 human rights activist Aslan Davletukayev, an RCFS volunteer, was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in Chechnya under circumstances that suggested the involvement of government forces. He was the third volunteer with the RCFS to have been killed since December 2001. According to AI and other human rights groups, he had been in the custody of federal forces. A criminal investigation into the incident was inconclusive and no charges were brought. The RCFS reported that it received anonymous threats following the September 2004 seizure of the school in Beslan. In 2003 Memorial reported that federal forces abducted Fatima Gazayeva of the human rights organization Echoes of War, a regional organization that reported on human rights abuses, and her husband Ilyas Atayev. They were released two days later but indicated they had no idea where they had been kept and by whom. They indicated that their captors had not treated them abusively."

Document(s): Open document

24.02.2006 - Source: ReliefWeb

Representatives of local NGOs called on by officials of various ministries and agencies, who used all kinds of pretexts ("Chechen human rights workers believe authorities may soon increase pressure on NGOs (Prague Watchdog)") [#45079],  [ID 16086]

"Representatives of local NGOs working in Chechnya and Ingushetia note that regional authorities and law enforcement agencies have recently begun to show an increased interest in their activity. According to them, officials of various power ministries and agencies have begun to use all kinds of pretexts in order to call on representatives of human rights organizations and independent media active in the region. As a rule, such visits are made for purposes of familiarization and so far no concrete complaints about the work of the NGOs have been presented."

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

In 2005 increasing fire on NGOs that work on human rights issues in Chechnya ("World Report 2006") [#42318],  [ID 16087]

"NGOs that work on human rights issues in Chechnya came under increasing fire in 2005. These groups, the activists who lead them, and the people they work with increasingly faced administrative and judicial harassment, and, in the most severe cases, persecution, threats, and physical attacks. For example, the authorities opened two criminal cases against the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, accusing it of inciting racial hatred and violating tax laws. If found guilty, Stanislav Dmitrievsky, its director, could face five years in prison."

Document(s): Open document

07.11.2005 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Between early 2003 and August 2004 74 assaults on human rights defenders in Russia, the biggest part in Chechnya ("Tschetschenien: Update: Entwicklungen in Tschetschenien, Inguschetien, Dagestan und anderen Teilen der Russischen Föderation") [#38928],  [ID 16088]

"Was die Regierung in Moskau rhetorisch und legislativ vorspurt, hat für viele Menschenrechts-AktivistInnen handfeste Folgen. Die «International Helsinki Federationvfor Human Rights» (IHF) spricht von einer drastischen Verschlechterung der Lage invden Jahren 2003 und 2004.Zwischen 1999 und 2002 wurden 67 Übergriffe gegen MenschenrechtlerInnen verzeichnet. Allein für die Zeit von Anfang 2003 bis August 2004 registrierte die Organisation 74 ähnliche Fälle. Dabei bezahlten dreizehn AktivistInnen ihren Einsatz mit dem Leben, zehn wurden entführt, viele gefoltert, geschlagen und anderweitig bedroht. Einige Übergriffe an MenschenrechtlerInnen, die sich mit tschetschenien beschäftigen, ereigneten sich in Moskau und Nischni Novgorod, die grosse Mehrheit der Fälle jedoch in nördlichen Kaukasus, hauptsächlich in Tschetschenien selbst. Einige Opfer waren Ausländer oder Aktivisten aus andern Teilen der Russischen Föderation, die meisten jedoch TschetschenInnen.41 Die IHF stellt ausserdem fest, dass die Verantwortung für die meisten Übergriffe bei staatlichen Akteuren zu suchen ist, dass die Russischen Behörden keine effizienten Massnahmen zur Verbesserung der Sicherheit von Menschenrechts-AktivistInnen getroffen haben, und dass es die internationale Gemeinschaft bislang verpasst hat, die Russische Föderation an ihre Verpflichtungen gegenüber Menschenrechts-Aktivistinnen zu erinnern.42"

Document(s): Open document

11.2005 - Source: Gesellschaft für Bedrohte Völker

It is becoming more difficult for humanitarian organizations and NGOs to do their work ("Schleichender Völkermord in Tschetschenien") [#41300],  [ID 16089]

"Trotz des akuten Bedarfs an humanitärer Hilfe auf allen Gebieten, wird es ausländischen Hilfsorganisationen zunehmend schwer gemacht, ihre Projekte in Tschetschenien durchzuführen. Im Juli wurde die tschechische Hilfsorganisation „People in Need“ gezwungen, ihre humanitäre Arbeit in Tschetschenien zu beenden. Die Medien in Russland hatten der Gruppe vorgeworfen, in Kontakt mit Terroristen zu stehen. Diese Ausweitung ist der letzte Schritt in einer Entwicklung, die auch von den UN mit Besorgnis beobachtet wird. „NGOs in Tschetschenien sind vielfach Schikanen ausgesetzt. Es herrscht Misstrauen zwischen ihnen und den Sicherheitsbehörden“, sagt Stephen Tull, UN-Sprecher in Moskau. Auch der Dänische Flüchtlingsrat, die größte Organisation, die UN-Hilfsprojekte im Kaukasus umsetzt, wird immer wieder verdächtigt, nicht im Sinne Russlands zu handeln. Eine Verlängerung ihrer Arbeitserlaubnis konnte erst nach zweimonatigen zähen Verhandlungen erwirkt werden. Andere Organisationen wie „Ärzte ohne Grenzen“ operiert nur noch mit einheimischem Personal, nachdem vier ausländische Mitarbeiter zwischen 1996 und 2002 verschleppt worden waren (IWPR, 2.8.2005)."

Document(s): Open document

01.09.2005 - Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting

Foreign non-government organisations in Chechnya face Russian hostility ("Chechnya: Aid Groups Face Hostility From Moscow") [#36149],  [ID 16090]

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03.06.2005 - Source: Council of Europe - Parliamentary Assembly

Human rights defenders increasingly become victims of serious human rights violations ("Honouring of obligations and commitments by the Russian Federation [Doc. 10568]") [#32710],  [ID 16091]

"268. We were also disturbed to learn of a series of attacks on human rights activists in Ingushetia. Amnesty International's research in and on the North Caucasus has found that human rights defenders and activists speaking out about the situation in the region, as well as those investigating such abuses and those who have sought redress with the European Court of Human Rights have themselves increasingly become victims of serious human rights violations. Some have been killed or "disappeared", others have been subjected to torture, including rape. Many more have been subjected to ill-treatment, harassment, and intimidation153."

Document(s): Open document

09.05.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Head of humanitarian NGO “Save the Generation” unlawfully detained by unknown law enforcement/security structure, probably FSB, in Grozny ("IHF Press Release "IHF Appeals to Chechen Prosecutor Regarding the “Disappearance” of the Head of the Humanitarian NGO “Save the Generation”, Murad Muradov, on 15 April 2005"") [#31964],  [ID 16092]

Document(s): Open document

13.04.2005 - Source: ReliefWeb

Humanitarian workers in Chechnya and Ingushetia fear punitive measures against themselves and their organizations, following recent events at Moscow's Sheremetyevo-2 Airport, where 2 IRC aid workers were refused entry to Russia by customs control ("Humanitarian workers in North Caucasus fear punitive measures (PW)") [#31178],  [ID 16093]

Document(s): Open document

15.03.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Continuing prosecution of the Chechen Committee for National Salvation (ChCNS), an organisation established to monitor the human rights situation in Chechnya and Ingushetia and to distribute information about the conflict ("Continuing Prosecution of the Chechen Committee for National Salvation (ChCNS)") [#30185],  [ID 16094]

Document(s): Open document

14.02.2005 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Prominent Chechen human rights defender and lawyer who had been missing since 20 January, released; abduction is seen as part of a wave of repression against human rights defenders ("Abducted Chechen Human Rights Lawyer Makhmut Magomadov Reappears") [#29773],  [ID 16095]

Document(s): Open document

15.01.2005 - Source: ReliefWeb

Chechnya: ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) employee went missing after being last seen at his office in Grozny ("Red Cross employee missing in Chechnya: Russian official, Red Cross (AFP)") [#28297],  [ID 16097]

Document(s): Open document

22.11.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Human rights defender Susaev and his family were reportedly harassed and assaulted by police; there are concerns for their safety as they may be in grave danger of serious human rights violations ("Russian Federation - UA 317/04") [#27290],  [ID 16098]

Document(s): Open document

29.04.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Moscow: human rights lawyer attacked by a group of five men/ it is feared that he was targeted for his work as a lawyer on behalf of victims in several key human rights cases, a number of which relate to the conflict in Chechnya ("Russian Federation - UA 160/04") [#21899],  [ID 16100]

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23.01.2004 - Source: International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Human rights activist kidnapped, tortured, and murdered in Chechnya; he was the third member of the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship to have been killed since 2001 ("A Human Rights Activist is Kidnapped, Tortured, and Murdered In Chechnya") [#18980],  [ID 16102]

"According to the information from the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship the mutilated body of Aslan Davletukaev, a human rights activist working with them, was found on 16 January 2004 near Gudermes, Chechnya, after he had been kidnapped on 10 January by a 50-man armed formation. According to information received by the IHF, an investigation has been opened by the Public Prosecutor in Gudermes. The father of the deceased had asked that details of the incident should not become public for some days fearing repercussions. Aslan is the third member of the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship to have been killed since 2001. On December 13, 2001, Luiza Betergirieva, a volunteer correspondent, was shot and killed at a roadblock near the city of Argun. And on December 18, 2002 Akhmad Ezhiev, the brother of Imran Ezhiev, the chairman of the Chechnya and Ingushetia Regional Branch of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, was shot and killed at his home near Shali. Imran Ezhiev himself has been detained seventeen times, most recently in March, 2003, when he was taken from his car by armed, masked men and held for approximately three days, during which he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment. Criminal investigations into these incidents have been"

Document(s): Open document