11.03.2008 - Source: US Department of State

Between 2000 and 2006, 71 criminal cases opened based on actual or attempted assassinations of municipal administration leaders or their staff; in large number of incidents, unidentified persons targeted government officials in violent attacks ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2007") [ID 22605]

"Some killings of government officials appeared connected with ongoing strife in the North Caucasus. The prosecutor's office of Chechnya reported that, between 2000 and 2006, 71 criminal cases were opened based on actual or attempted assassinations of municipal administration leaders or their staff. Of these cases, nine have gone to trial. (…)

In a large number of incidents, unidentified persons targeted officials in violent attacks. On February 7, Vedeno district, Chechnya, deputy administration head Mayrbek Murdagamov was killed by an explosive device as he was leaving his home. On February 14, Patriots of Russia Dagestan branch leader Eduard Khidirov and his brother were severely wounded when their car came under fire in Makhachkala. On February 20, Vladimir Albegov, federal judge of Prigiridnyy district court in North Osetiya, was found dead on a road near Vladikavkaz. Albegov had disappeared three days earlier. A criminal case has been opened.

According to Memorial, in Dagestan representatives of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defense and Traffic Police (GIBDD) continue to be targeted on numerous occasions. For example, on July 18, five militia officers died and eight were injured in Kizil-Yurt village when a remote-controlled device detonated at a sports facility where officers were exercising. On August 3, a Buynaksk deputy chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was killed. On August 7, an explosive device went off on the outskirts of Khasavyurt. When a militia patrol car arrived at the scene, a second bomb detonated. No casualties were reported."

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06.03.2007 - Source: US Department of State

Government officials targeted by Chechen fighters; prime minister Kadyrov stated that 71 heads of local administration and 60 imams had been killed from 2000-06; Memorial documented 3 cases during 2006 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006") [ID 19307]

"Chechen fighters also targeted civilian officials working for the Chechen Republic. Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov stated November 14 that 71 heads of local administration and 60 imams had been killed in Chechnya from 2000-06. Memorial documented three cases in which local officials in Chechnya were killed during the year."

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08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

According to authorities, since 1999 Chechen rebels have killed 11 local administration heads ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16156]

"There were a number of killings of government officials throughout the country, some of which may have been connected with the ongoing strife in the North Caucasus or with politics. For example, Zagir Arukhov, the minister of nationalities, external relations, and information in the Republic of Dagestan, was assassinated on May 20 when a bomb exploded as he entered his apartment building. Deputy Prosecutor General Fridinskiy reported that, as of May 2004, Chechen rebels had killed 11 local administration heads since the antiterrorist operation in Chechnya began in 1999."

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Chechen rebels assassinated president Kadyrov in May 2004 and killed numerous members of federally appointed Chechen administration ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16157]

"Chechen rebels assassinated Chechen president Akhmed Kadyrov in May 2004, killed numerous civilian officials and militia associated with the federally appointed Chechen administration, and threatened to kill Kadyrov's successor Alu Alkhanov, who was elected in August 2004 (see section 1.g.). Chechen fighters killed a number of federal soldiers whom they had taken prisoner (see section 1.g.). Many other individuals were kidnapped and then killed in Chechnya during the year (see sections 1.b., 1.c., and 1.g.); both sides to the conflict, as well as criminal elements, were involved in those activities. Authorities often attributed bombings and other attacks on police or civilian officials in Dagestan and other areas in the southern part of the country to Chechen "bandits.""

Document(s): Open document

08.03.2006 - Source: US Department of State

Rebels killed several members of pro-russian Chechen administration in 2004 ("Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2005") [#46144],  [ID 16158]

"In other incidents, rebels took up positions in populated areas and fired on federal forces, thereby exposing civilians to federal counterattacks. When villagers protested, the rebels sometimes beat them or fired upon them. Chechen fighters also targeted civilian officials working for the pro‑Moscow Chechen Administration. On November 29, about 100 Chechen rebels raided the village of Avtury, killing the head of the village administration Ibragim Umpashayev and his son Isa. In May 2004 Chechen president Akhmed Kadyrov was assassinated while attending a Victory Day celebration in Groznyy. Chechen fighters also reportedly abused, tortured, and killed federal soldiers whom they captured. Rebels continued a concerted campaign, begun in 2001, to kill civilian officials of the government‑supported Chechen Administration. According to Chechen sources, rebel factions also used violence to eliminate economic rivals in illegal activities or to settle personal accounts."

Document(s): Open document

01.2006 - Source: Human Rights Watch

Following the death of Maskhadov in March 2005, chechen rebels stepped up their campagn against civil servants and police ("World Report 2006") [#42318],  [ID 16159]

"Chechen rebels also continue committed egregious violations of human rights. Following the death of rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov in March, they stepped up their campaign against civil servants and regular police both in Chechnya and the neighboring regions of Ingushetia and Dagestan."

Document(s): Open document

11.12.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Chechnya: Head of security council killed in fire at his residence; according to interior ministry arson can be ruled out ("Chechen Security Council Chief Dies In Fire") [#40399],  [ID 16160]

Document(s): Open document

02.12.2005 - Source: ReliefWeb

Chechnya: After the Moscow-staged parliamentary elections 2 administrative heads were killed; killers were not identified ("Violence erupts in Chechnya after elections") [#40066],  [ID 16161]

Document(s): Open document

30.11.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Chechnya: Mayor of Avtury killed by unidentified attackers; masked men in camouflage also shot his son and wounded 2 police officers ("Local Administrator Killed In Chechnya") [#39910],  [ID 16162]

Document(s): Open document

19.08.2005 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Attack against Chechen minister of housing Abu Sugaipov leaves six injured ("Blast At Home Of Chechen Official Injures Six") [#35727],  [ID 16163]

Document(s): Open document

13.07.2004 - Source: BBC News

Chechnya: an explosion has targeted Chechnya's acting president Abramov hours after rebels killed 18 pro-Moscow fighters ("Attack 'targets Chechen leader'") [#24023],  [ID 16164]

Document(s): Open document

23.06.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

According to AI Russian and Chechen authorities failed to bring suspected perpetrators of human rights abuses to justice (""Normalization" in whose eyes?") [#23468],  [ID 16167]

"Amnesty International is concerned that the Russian and Chechen authorities have failed, and continue to fail, to carry out thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights abuses and to bring suspected perpetrators of such abuses to justice. It appears that charges and sentences handed down to the few police and military personnel that have been prosecuted for serious human rights violations committed against civilians in Chechnya fail to address the gravity of the acts as well as the scale of human rights violations reported in Chechnya. Lack of transparency and accountability for human rights violations perpetuates a climate of impunity and must be addressed urgently, as part of the process of establishing the rule of law. According to information published by the Council of Europe, the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for ensuring Human Rights and Civil Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic received 9,952 complaints between 2000 and April 2003 from civilians in Chechnya regarding violations of their rights, including human rights abuses26. However, prosecutions are few and far between. According to a recent report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on the situation in Chechnya, between 1999 and mid 2003 the Military Procuracy of the North Caucasus had conducted criminal investigations into 16 cases of “abductions” (art. 126 of the Russian Criminal Code), “allegedly committed by members of the armed forces”. The Chechen procuracy initiated 77 criminal investigations against members of the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation.27 Of 44 members of the armed forces who were convicted by September 2002 for crimes against the civilian population, only 14 were convicted for crimes which caused physical harm or death of a civilian and no one had been sentenced for “abduction”.28"

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24.05.2004 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Intellectuals and persons with responsibilities killed by Chechen rebels, who see them as collaborators ("Tschetschenien und die tschetschenische Bevölkerung in der Russischen Föderation ") [#23046],  [ID 16166]

"Insbesondere Intellektuelle und Verantwortungsträger werden von beiden Seiten unter Druck gesetzt. Die Widerstandskämpfer töten sie wegen Kollaboration und die russischen und tschetschenischen Sicherheitskräfte, weil sie sich für die einheimische Bevölkerung einsetzten.52 Verhältnismässig neu ist, dass auch Frauen Opfer von Säuberungen werden. Waren es früher nur Männer, die der Zusammenarbeit mit den Widerstandskämpfern verdächtigt wurden, so werden nun auch Frauen gejagt. Dies geht einerseits auf das Auftauchen der erwähnten Selbstmordattentäterinnen zurück. Andererseits werden in letzter Zeit auch Menschenrechtlerinnen bzw. ihre MitarbeiterInnen und Verwandten verfolgt. Irena Brežná beobachtet allgemein in letzter Zeit eine zunehmende Individualisierung der Verfolgung derjenigen, die sich gegen Verbrechen auflehnen, die humanitäre Hilfe leisten und die nicht mit den Behörden kollaborieren wollen.53"

Document(s): Open document