Chechen Referendum has been contested in court

The organization ?For Human Rights? has applied to the Supreme Court of Russia with the claim to nullify the Referendum on Constitution conducted in Chechnya at the end of March. The initiators of this action - the Deputy of the State Duma Sergey Kovalyov and human rights activists Lev Ponomaryov and Yevgeny Ikhlov stated a case they will produce during the sitting of the court.

This case comes from the fact that no one abolished the Constitution of Chechnya passed in 1992. On the basis of this Constitution Aslan Maskhadov was elected President in 1996, and Russian leadership did not contest the validity of these elections. The Supreme Court did not declare the Constitution of 1992 invalid, so legally it continues to operate.

Moreover, in accordance with Russian legislation referendums must not be held during the state of emergency. Though the state of emergency has not been officially declared human rights activists are ready to prove that all its ?attributes? (in particular, curfew, prohibition to conduct meetings) are presented.

The date when the application is considered in the Supreme Court has not yet been fixed.