Statement of Chechen Human Rights Center Director to international human rights organizations

Chechen Human Rights Center Director Mairbek Taramov has sent a statement to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the CE Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. His action was caused by a disappearance of four young Chechens. Elzhurkayev Ismail Elievich, Elzhurkayev Ibragim Elievich and Ilyasov Khamzat Salambekovich left Baku for the Chechen Republic on April 1, 2003. The next day they, along with Davletbiyev Bauddi Balavdinovich, a refugee from Ingushetia who had joined them, were detained by servicemen of the federal forces while entering the village of Stariye Atagi. After it all the four men disappeared.

The statement reads:

"Though the relatives cherish faint hope the disappeared will be rescued, we think they disappeared without leaving a trace. Such disappearances are extensively practiced by Russian special services, bodies of dead, and even sometimes alive but tortured Chechens are being blown up by landmines and trotyl leaving almost nothing from the corpse. Thousands of Chechens has disappeared in such a way."

"We firmly believe that you are acquainted with the situation in Chechnya, and if you have at least a bit of sympathy with other's grief, we ask you to interfere in the lawless actions taking place. We also earnestly ask you to follow your functions and help the suffering relatives to search if not alive young men at least their dead bodies."

"We ask you once again to interfere in the disastrous condition of Chechen refugees in Azerbaijan, which is obviously of discriminating nature. We ask you to explain in simple and understandable words why Chechen refugees are refused to have full status of a 1951-year standard, terrible tragedies happening in the absence of it."

"What dimensions the tragedy in the Chechen Republic should run up to for you to notice, answer and stop this large-scale misdeed, at least in the part of human rights violation?"