Statement of Chechen NGOs in Azerbaijan

On November 15, 2003, members of the Council of NGOs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in Azerbaijan made a statement welcoming the verdict of London's Magistrates' Court, which rejected a bid to extradite Akhmed Zakayev - a representative of the Chechen president - to the Russian Federation.

"We consider this decision more than well-grounded as there is no doubt any Chechen who has whatever relation to the Resistance Movement, even that one who is a follower of freedom and independence of the Chechen Republic, is taken by Russian authorities as an enemy with all the ensuing consequences: he can be arrested without any sanctions of supervising bodies, can be subjected to insults, humiliation and torture, can be imprisoned out of court and investigation, can be shot or can disappear without a trace. There are not hundreds and not thousands but tens of thousands of such cases; and it is generally known," reads the statement.

The Council showed "utter certitude that the victory gained at the UK court by the Chechen president's representative would be an incentive for the Chechen people to continue their fair fight against the Russian aggressor, which they would decisively win once and for all."