"Memorial": after cancelling CTO regime in Chechnya power agents strengthen pressure on youth

After Chechnya ceased to be a counterterrorist operation (CTO) zone, law-enforcement bodies have strengthened pressure on young people. This sort of "actions" aimed to "prevent" terrorism give a boomerang effect - the young men, exposed to violence demonstrated by power gents, go away and join militants' groupings. This is the topic of the statement of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

The latest case of this sort was the departure from home of Anzor Bashaev, a resident of Shalazhi village, Achkhoy-Martan District of the Chechen Republic. On May 7, the young man left his home and never came back. About two days before that, he was detained by employees of power agencies and then returned home strongly beaten. He said that he was taken away in the context of disappearance of Asmarzaev, who, in the opinion of his relatives, had been kidnapped by militants, or, in the opinion of local residents, went away voluntary with them.

In total, during the last six months, eight person left Shalazhi "for the forest", as reported by the HRC "Memorial". Among them there were cousins Adam and Islam Shakhbiev and Baudi Akhtakhanov, 22.

Akhtakhanov went away to join militants after he was detained on November 29, 2008, by power agents and severely tortured. On the following day Baudi left his home.

Local resident Alvi Khamzaev left for the forest for the same reason. In late April 2009, in the afternoon, he was taken away from his house by some employees of some power agency (presumably, from the ROVD of Urus-Martan District). Khamzaev was kept in custody till midnight and released after his relatives managed to detect his whereabouts. In the course of interrogation the young man was tortured.

"It seemed to us that cancellation of the CTO regime would be another step towards normalization of the situation in the republic, but what we see now is quite the opposite," residents of Shalazhi told human rights activists. According to their version, periodically at the entrances to the village from the villages of Orekhovo (Yandi-Kotar), Achkhoy-Martan District, and Gekhi, Urus-Martan District, block posts are deployed, and helicopters keep flying over the village at low altitude.

At the mosque, the villagers were warned that they should not go the forest, as they can be shot dead there without any warning.