Military

DATE=10/26/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-268470

TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA RIGHTS (L-O)

BYLINE=LARRY JAMES

DATELINE=MOSCOW

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: An international human-rights group is urging that Russia be brought before the European Court for Human Rights to explain why it has not done a better job investigating claims that its soldiers tortured and killed civilians in Chechnya. Larry James reports from Moscow the appeal by Human Rights Watch comes on the eve of the October 29th European Union Russia summit.

TEXT: Human Rights Watch says their investigations have revealed what they describe as a cycle of torture and extortion imposed by Russian troops on Chechens. The 99-page report lays out allegations that Russian troops have arbitrarily detained thousands of Chechens on suspicion of collaborating with rebels.

According to the report, for many Chechens the only way out of detention is for their relatives to pay bribes to corrupt Russian officials.

Vladimir Kalamanov is President Putin's special representative on human rights in Chechnya. His office told V-O-A that he had no comment on the report because he had not yet read it.

Diederik Lohman is director of the Moscow office of Human Rights Watch. He described as hopeless the work of the Russian prosecutors who have the job of investigating human-rights violations. Such ineffectiveness, he says, means those committing the crimes have no reason to fear the consequences of their acts.

/// ACT LOHMAN, IN ENGLISH ///

(LOHMAN): We see no evidence whatsoever of a meaningful investigation into abuses and the other institutions that exist at this moment, such as the office of the special representative on human rights for Chechnya for President Putin, does not actually have the power to investigate anything.

(JAMES): Why do you think that is?

(LOHMAN): A lack of political will at the highest level in this country. Many of the investigations would not be that hard to finish if the prosecutor's office had a clear task supported by the highest offices in this country to go to the bottom of all of the abuses and to bring to justice those who are guilty of them.

/// END ACT ///

Human Rights Watch hopes their latest action will make Russian authorities investigate the abuses, prosecute those responsible and stop them from happening in the first place. He says the international community could have done much more to stop the abuses and singled out Germany, Italy, and Britain for turning a blind eye to Chechnya in the hopes of improving relations with the Putin government. He says he is encouraged somewhat by the fact that France has insisted that the issue be on the agenda at the E-U-Russia summit which opens on the 29th of October. (SIGNED)

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