23:00, 5 February 2011

Today is the eleventh anniversary of massacre in Novye Aldy

Today is exactly 11 years after Russian power agents conducted a special operation in the village of Novye Aldy, Chechnya, where at least 56 civilians were murdered.

In the morning on February 5, 2000, Novye Aldy was invaded by OMON (special-purpose militia) units (according to the HRC "Memorial", they were from St Petersburg and the Ryazan Region). A couple of hours later, over 50 villagers, including a one-year-old child, nine women and eleven elderly residents, fell victim of extrajudicial killings and executions.

In connection with the anniversary of events in the village of Novye Aldy, Russian human rights activists prepared a petition addressed to the President of the Russian Federation and the Investigatory Department for the Chechen Republic of the Investigatory Committee under the Russian Prosecutor's Office (ICPO).

Human rights activists and concerned citizens want to know what has been done to establish the participants in this crime and whether the criminal investigation was extended and what the outcome of the investigation team was.