Chechnya 'dire human rights crisis,' says HRW
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posted by zaina19 on May, 2005 as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/17/2005 4:05 PM 17/5/2005 Chechnya 'dire human rights crisis,' says HRW Below are the Russia paragraphs from the Human Rights Watch Torture Worldwide report. Russia considers its military and policing action in Chechnya to be a counterterrorism operation. Now in its sixth year, the conflict has created a dire human rights crisis. Chechen fighters have committed unspeakable acts of terrorism in Chechnya and in other parts of Russia. Russia's federal forces have detained and "disappeared" thousands of Chechens whom they suspect of involvement with rebel forces and tortured them in custody to obtain confessions and information. By carrying out forced disappearances, federal forces in Chechnya attempt to conceal the torture and summary execution of those in their custody, and therefore benefit from impunity for such crimes. "Disappearances" in Chechnya are so widespread and systematic that they constitute crimes against humanity; by some estimates between 3,000 and 5,000 have "disappeared" since ... >> full...
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City Intends to Return Churches to Owners
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posted by zaina19 on as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/18/2005 4:10 AM City Intends to Return Churches to Owners By Irina Titova STAFF WRITER The St. Petersburg city government last week approved a bill that is intended to return to religious organizations their property that was nationalized after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Under the bill, religious buildings and those used for religious purposes, which are currently assigned to religious organizations for their permanent, rent-free use, will become the property of religious organizations. The city owns 94 churches, synagogues, mosques and Buddhist temples and 29 other buildings that are used for religious purposes covered by the bill. The federal government owns 19 such buildings. Governor Valentina Matviyenko said that the property will be returned to the religious organizations on request. "This way we restore fairness and develop the legal basis for the return of the lands to religious confessions, which used to legally belong to them," Interfax quoted her saying. Tatyana Prosvirina, ... >> full...
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Council of Europe: More Democracy Needed
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posted by zaina19 on as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/18/2005 4:12 AM Council of Europe: More Democracy Needed By Geir Moulson THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WARSAW - European leaders hailed the progress of democracy on the continent's eastern edge as its top human rights body met Monday, but they held up Belarus and Moldova's breakaway Transdniester province as evidence that more needs to be done. Opening a two-day summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski insisted that "no one should be belittled, abandoned or forgotten." Presidents Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine and Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia, Western-leaning leaders who came to power following protests in their former Soviet republics, heard Kwasniewski argue that western Europe must support "all of those who want to live in accordance with European standards and democratic values in whatever region of our continent." "With the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Rose Revolution in Georgia in mind, we can rejoice in the continuous ... >> full...
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Prosecutor Decides To Probe Papers After All
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posted by zaina19 on as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/18/2005 4:14 AM Prosecutor Decides To Probe Papers After All By Vladimir Kovalev STAFF WRITER Under pressure from human rights advocates, the City Prosecutor's Office has decided to open a criminal case over anti-Semitic articles printed in newspapers Za Russkoe Delo and Rus Pravoslavnaya. It had previously rejected opening a criminal case and had decided that a warning to the newspaper's editors was sufficient. On May 4, City Prosecutor Sergei Zaitsev sent an official letter to the Federation Council saying that an additional examination of the publications would be made. "I annul the decision made on April 22 because it was groundless and return the [investigation] materials for additional examination," Zaitsev wrote. He told human rights advocates that his office is active in preventing and punishing crimes that are committed on grounds of national hatred. A special group of law enforcement officers has been formed to address the problem, Zaitsev said. "The group's ... >> full...
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Deadly performance boosting
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posted by zaina19 on as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 5/19/2005 8:50 AM 18/5/2005 Deadly performance boosting The bodies of six people in military uniforms with marks of gunshot wounds were found on the outskirts of Kurchaloi in Chechnya last week, local residents told the Information Centre of the Council of Nongovernmental Organisations. They said the dead bodies were brought away by local internal affairs personnel and very soon buried. No identification procedures were carried out and all the bodies were buried in black polyethylene bags. The locals believe the hasty burial gives evidence those may not have been rebels, but usual civilians seized earlier and then killed and dressed in camouflage uniforms to be shown as destroyed rebels. There were similar cases before. Law enforcement agents abducted three young men in Gudermes more than a week ago, according to the Council of Nongovernmental Organisations. Three days ago their dead bodies in camouflage uniforms and with marks of ... >> full...
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