European Court finds Russia guilty of mass murders in Chechnya

The European Court for Human Rights has found Russia guilty of mass murders in Chechnya, having considered the case "Musaev et al versus Russia." The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it at the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial."

The Court has satisfied at once four complaints of the relatives of the victims of one of the most broadly known and bloody clean-ups ("zachistkas") of the second Chechen campaign, which was held on February 5, 2000, in Novye Aldy village in the suburb of the city of Grozny: Yusup Musaev, Suleiman and Tamara Magomadovs, Malika Labazanova and Hasan Abdulmezhidov.

The above complaints were recognized eligible by the European Court on December 13, 2005. The interests of Chechen residents were represented by the lawyers of the HRC "Memorial" and the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC, London).

The "Caucasian Knot" has informed earlier that all the applicants, except for the Magomadovs, were themselves witnesses of mass execution. On February 5, 2000, in the course of the clean-up of the village in non-combat situation dozens of peaceful residents (including old men, women and children) were shot dead. Many houses have been plundered and burnt down.

The report of the HRC "Memorial" published 2000 under the title "Clean-up: Novye Aldy Village, February 5, 2000" was dedicated to these tragic events.

The investigation of the criminal case initiated on March 5, 2000, by the Prosecutor's Office of the Chechen Republic gave no results. Despite multiple requests, the Government of Russia has refused to provide the European Court with copies of the criminal case materials, referring to its secrecy.