13:05, 23 October 2003

Georgia deported three Chechen refugees detained in Pankissi Gorge to Russia

Three Chechens detained by Georgian police in the Pankisi Gorge on October 11 have been deported to Russia, Kakheti region police chief Zurab Tushuri reported on Tuesday.

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said at a press conference earlier that three Chechens had been detained and would be handed over to Russia.

Chechen human rights activist Aslambek Abdurzakov has said that the detainees, Vakha Bukeyev, Adam Makalov and Musa Islamov, are Chechen refugees who did not have refugee cards on them.

He added that the Georgian police had "flagrantly violated these Chechen residents' rights."

Abdurzakov announced that on Monday the Georgian State Security Ministry had searched a mosque in the village of Duisi in the Pankisi Gorge and seized several copies of the Koran.

Refugees are planning to stage a protest rally in the Pankisi Gorge, he said.

Spokesman for the Georgian State Security Ministry Nika Laliashvili has confirmed that searches were conducted in Duisi. Arab literature that has nothing to do with the Koran was seized, he said.

Source: Interfax News Agency