00:39, 14 December 2014

HRC head warns Chechen authorities against illegal actions towards CaT employees

Mikhail Fedotov, the Chairman of the Human Rights Council (HRC) under the President of the Russian Federation, has got involved in the situation around the staff of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) of the Committee against Torture (CaT), acting in the territory of Chechnya. In his conversation with the republic's leadership, Fedotov warned them about unlawful acts against rights defenders.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 13 the CaT's staff in Grozny reported that they were persecuted by unknown armed men; and that JMG members feared for their lives, when returning home. A little later, the apartment that houses the office of the JMG was set on fire and burnt out completely.

"If something happens with rights defenders, it'll be a huge stupidity," the "Novaya Gazeta" quotes Fedotov as addressing the Chechen authorities.

Earlier, it was reported that Igor Kalyapin, the head of the CaT applied to the bosses of the Prosecutor's Office and the ICRF demanding to check Ramzan Kadyrov's introduction of the principle of collective responsibility for the families of members of the armed underground for compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation. After that Kadyrov stated the need to check a man named Kalyapin for his involvement in organizing the attack on Grozny on December 4.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.