Decision to resume work of "Memorial" in Chechnya will be made in September

In early September it will be known, whether the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" will resume its activities in the territory of the Chechen Republic. This human rights organization suspended its operations in Chechnya after kidnapping and murder on July 15 of Natalia Estemirova, an employee of the "Memorial".

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by an employee of the Grozny-based office of the HRC "Memorial" that now the employees of the office are on vacations. "In early September, they will return to their workplaces, and we'll decide what to do. Now, it's hard to say whether the work of the centre will be resumed. The situation is not so simple," the source said.

"Natasha Estemirova's murder, the subsequent suit lodged by President of Chechnya against Oleg Orlov, leader of the "Memorial", certain statements of the republic's leaders and the general situation in Chechnya are causing serious fears. It is clear that any organization working in Chechnya, or elsewhere, must think about its employees, their safety and work conditions. Therefore, we need to take of all these nuances into account while making a decision, whether to resume the work of the 'Memorial' in the territory of the Chechen Republic or not," he has added.

The employee of the "Memorial" has confirmed that recently several of his colleagues noticed that they are shadowed. "I shan't give particular names, but several employees have noticed shadowing. It's not clear, who and why is doing it, as the activities of our organization are open, and we never make our work secret," he said.

It should be noted here that the HRC "Memorial" has four offices in Chechnya, operating in the cities of Grozny and Gudermes, district capital Urus-Martan and Sernovodsk village, Sunzha District of Chechnya. In total, the "Memorial" has 27 employees in Chechnya.

In the opinion of other Chechen NGOs, the shadowing organized over employees of the HRC "Memorial" is, most likely, one of the elements of psychological pressure on them.