Rights defenders associate arson of "Memorial" office with actions of Chechen authorities

The attack on the office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Ingushetia has become a result of impunity of the people involved in human rights violations committed in Chechnya, rights defenders interviewed by the 'Caucasian Knot' believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that last night, a fire broke out in the office of the HRC "Memorial". According to records from a video surveillance camera, the office was set on fire by two unidentified people, Oleg Orlov reported. The rights defenders treated the attack on the office as a terror act.

Oleg Khabibrakhmanov, an assistant to the head and a lawyer of the "Committee Against Torture" (CAT), believes that the attack on the office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Ingushetia was the result of impunity of the people involved in a number of crimes committed in Chechnya, in particular, the arson of the CAT's office in Grozny in December 2014.

He has added that the CAT had repeatedly warned that what was happening in Chechnya "would sooner or later be extrapolated to the whole territory of Russia."

The lawyer also reminded that the case of the attack on the minivan with journalists and rights defenders, committed in Ingushetia near the border with Chechnya in March 2016, remains unsolved. According to Khabibrakhmanov, law enforcers could have found the criminals "quickly enough," but Chechen authorities are not interested.

It is the impunity of attackers on rights defenders that gives rise to new attacks and arsons, Lyudmila Alekseeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, believes.

"Attacks can be organized both by the 'tops' and by 'hotheads' from among citizens," she has added.

The arson of the "Memorial" office could be organized by Chechen security officials, as their activities have long spread to Russian regions far beyond Northern Caucasus, Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the Civic Assistance Committee, has suggested.

At the same time, she has completely excluded the "Ingush trace" in the arson, since, in her opinion, there are no people among Ingushes, who are dissatisfied with the activities of the HRC "Memorial" in the republic.

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