Human rights defenders receive legal training in Nazran

A training seminar for members of Chechen human rights organizations was held in Nazran on December 10. According to one of the organizers, Vladimir Weissman of the International Helsinki Federation (IHF), the goal was to teach the proper way of writing applications to be filed with the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee and other international bodies.

Mr. Weissman emphasized that the significance of the seminar was connected to the numerous human rights violations in Chechnya. "Our training was aimed at some very specific cases," he said.

The agenda included several legal consultations with Karina Moskalenko, director of the Moscow-based International Protection Centre. "We looked at how to make inquiries into the cases of people who have been jailed for a long time and have not yet received any sentencing. The attendees were taught how to write an appeal to the prosecutor's office. Very few knew that such an appeal must be reviewed within five days," Moskalenko said.

This was the fourth international law seminar of the International Helsinki Federation's legal training series. The organizers were the IHF and the International Protection Centre.