Russia
19.03.03
Urgent Interventions
The Russian Federation : release of Mr. Imran Ezhiev
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
New information
RUS 001 / 0303 / OBS 012.1
Release
The Russian Federation
19th March 2003
The Observatory for the protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
program of FIDH and OMCT has been informed of the release of Mr.
Imran Ezhiev, head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society's
Information Centre in the Northern Caucasus and regional coordinator
of the Moscow Helsinki Group. Mr. Ezhiev had been kidnapped on March
15th 2003 by unknown armed masked persons on the road between the
settlement of Shali and the village of Serzhen-Yurt
M. Ezhiev was found on 19th March 2003, at around 5:00 am, in a field
near the village of Berkat Yurt in Chechnya. According to the
information received, Mr. Ezhiev was beaten.
The Observatory would like to thank all the persons and organisations
who intervened in favour of Mr. Ezhiev.
The Observatory remains concerns by the fact that the access to
Chechnya is almost prohibited for humanitarian organizations,
journalists and international NGOs and that the few local human
rights organizations that are still trying to operate in Chechnya are
confronted daily with pressures and very precarious conditions of
work.
Background information:
M. Ezhiev was kidnapped on 15th March around 7 pm (local time) on the
road between the settlement of Shali and the village of Serzhen-Yurt.
He was accompanied by Mr. Zaur Saitovich Kharipov, a correspondent
for the SRCF, who reported that two other cars forced Mr. Ezhiev's
car to stop on the side of the road. Unidentified armed masked
persons got out of the cars and asked Mr. Ezhiev and Mr. Kharipov to
show their identity documents. They then threatened Mr. Kharipov with
their weapons and forced Mr. Ezhiev into one of the cars and drove
away to an unknown location
The kidnapping was allegedly related to the activities conducted by
Mr. Ezhiev in the Shali district, notably the gathering of
information for the annual SRCF report on human rights in Chechnya.
He was indeed constantly in contact by telephone with the Center to
denounce violations in the region. Moreover, Mr. Ezhiev was also
conducting research for OMCT on violations of economic, social and
cultural rights in Chechnya, that was to be presented at the 31st
session of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights in November 2003.
M. Imran Ezhiev had already been arrested by the Russian armed forces
in 2000 and 2001, although no charges had been brought against him.
Paris - Geneva, 19th March 2003
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the
French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
New information
RUS 001 / 0303 / OBS 012.1
Release
The Russian Federation
19th March 2003
The Observatory for the protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint
program of FIDH and OMCT has been informed of the release of Mr.
Imran Ezhiev, head of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society's
Information Centre in the Northern Caucasus and regional coordinator
of the Moscow Helsinki Group. Mr. Ezhiev had been kidnapped on March
15th 2003 by unknown armed masked persons on the road between the
settlement of Shali and the village of Serzhen-Yurt
M. Ezhiev was found on 19th March 2003, at around 5:00 am, in a field
near the village of Berkat Yurt in Chechnya. According to the
information received, Mr. Ezhiev was beaten.
The Observatory would like to thank all the persons and organisations
who intervened in favour of Mr. Ezhiev.
The Observatory remains concerns by the fact that the access to
Chechnya is almost prohibited for humanitarian organizations,
journalists and international NGOs and that the few local human
rights organizations that are still trying to operate in Chechnya are
confronted daily with pressures and very precarious conditions of
work.
Background information:
M. Ezhiev was kidnapped on 15th March around 7 pm (local time) on the
road between the settlement of Shali and the village of Serzhen-Yurt.
He was accompanied by Mr. Zaur Saitovich Kharipov, a correspondent
for the SRCF, who reported that two other cars forced Mr. Ezhiev's
car to stop on the side of the road. Unidentified armed masked
persons got out of the cars and asked Mr. Ezhiev and Mr. Kharipov to
show their identity documents. They then threatened Mr. Kharipov with
their weapons and forced Mr. Ezhiev into one of the cars and drove
away to an unknown location
The kidnapping was allegedly related to the activities conducted by
Mr. Ezhiev in the Shali district, notably the gathering of
information for the annual SRCF report on human rights in Chechnya.
He was indeed constantly in contact by telephone with the Center to
denounce violations in the region. Moreover, Mr. Ezhiev was also
conducting research for OMCT on violations of economic, social and
cultural rights in Chechnya, that was to be presented at the 31st
session of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights in November 2003.
M. Imran Ezhiev had already been arrested by the Russian armed forces
in 2000 and 2001, although no charges had been brought against him.
Paris - Geneva, 19th March 2003
The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the
protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete
support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the
French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : (+ 41 22) 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch