Rizvan Kurbanov promises help to "Mothers of Dagestan" in searching missing people

Prime Minister of Dagestan Rizvan Kurbanov has promised, when speaking to activists of the human rights NGO "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights", to help them in their search of the young people who had disappeared in the republic. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent has learnt about it from Svetlana Isaeva, chair of the "Mothers of Dagestan for Human Rights".

Mr Kurbanov invited Svetlana Isaeva and another activist Gyulnara Rustamova for a talk. "At the meeting we talked about the fate of the missing young guys and how to bring militants to peaceful life. He promised his help in addressing these problems," said Ms Isaeva.

She said that she had an impression that the present Dagestan authorities were ready to mutually beneficial cooperation. "At the former leadership such meetings were out of questions. Then, we were accused of treachery of Dagestan, being spies of western countries, for whose money human rights activists had allegedly existed," said Svetlana.

She pointed at some duality in bureaucrats' behaviour. "On March 27, Swiss senator Dick Marti, Rapporteur of the commission on legal issues and human rights of the PACE, came to Dagestan. We had agreement with the people who organized Mr Marti's trip to Dagestan that he would come to our office and meet us and those residents who had suffered from militia arbitrariness. We phoned such people, and they have arrived to Makhachkala from different districts and cities for their own money," said Ms Isaeva.

She said that by lunch time of that day she was called from the office of the Ombudsman of Dagestan and told that for safety reasons the meeting could take place only in the hotel "President-Complex". "I was informed that Dick Marti could meet only me and Rustamova," she said.

When Isaeva and Rustamova reached to hotel, the latter received a call from the Ombudsman's office saying that Marti was in Rasul Gamzatov National Library, where he holds a press conference and meets the invited persons.

"We turned around and drove to the library, but the city was full of enormous traffic jams; and when we finally reached the library, there was nobody there. We were told that the Rapporteur went back to the hotel together with the officials. We again drove there, and a number of Dagestanians whom we had invited to the meeting joined us," she continued.

She said that they waited in the hotel hall till evening: "We were not let to the guest, saying that Mr Marti was tired, but finally the meeting took place."

One of her invitees - Omar Magomayev from Makhachkala - said that he told Marti about the illegal methods used by local militiamen. "My son Gebek was a student in Moscow, and after graduation stayed there to work. He came to visit me for a couple of days and was shot dead here together with his friend by armed people in masks on January 11, 2010, when they went out of a cafe and were about to get into his friend's car," said the source.

He also expressed hope that European structures could affect local law enforcers. "Every year, dozens of young men are assassinated in Dagestan without trial and inquiry. We complain of their arbitrariness both to Moscow and Makhachkala, but very few people pay attention to our problems. It's high time to stop this arbitrariness. If there's nobody to help us at home, we'll have to address to Europe," said Mr Magomayev.