HRW: Shamanov should be sued for massacring Chechen residents

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) asserts that Vladimir Shamanov, the newly appointed Commander of Russia's Airborne Troops, should be sued under the case on massacres of peaceful residents of Chechnya.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that General-Lieutenant Vladimir Shamanov, former commander of one of military units in Chechnya, who was until recently the chief of Central Administration for Combat Training and Service of Russian Armed Forces, on May 25, was appointed to the position of Commander of Airborne Troops of Russia.

The "InoPressa.ru" reports with reference to The Times that during the Chechen War Shamanov had a reputation of the cruellest general. In 2005, the European Court on Human Rights (ECtHR) found Shamanov guilty of massed use of weapons for chaotic shelling of Katyr-Yurt residents in 2000.

After the Court's ruling, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) opened investigation into the events in Katyr-Yurt but found no crime attributes. Last December the Kremlin notified the Council of Europe that the Investigatory Committee started revising the GPO's decision, as reported by an article in the above edition.

However, as regarded by the author, a new investigation by Russian authorities of General-Lieutenant Shamanov's actions is improbable: as Commander of the 58th Army of the North-Caucasian Military District Shamanov was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for his successes in the Second Chechen War.