Moscow rights defenders demand from Russian president to stop kidnappings in Chechnya

Human rights activists state systemic sabotage on the part of Chechen law enforcement bodies and inability of the Investigatory Committee to fulfil its immediate duties to investigate crimes in the republic, especially kidnappings. These are the topics of the ongoing press conference in Moscow.

Let us remind you that the press conference "The Chechen Republic: Prosecutor's Office and Investigatory Committee sign up their impotence" is held by representatives of the Moscow Helsinki Group, Interregional Committee Against Torture, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights Centre "Memorial".

The press conference will disseminate a letter of human rights organizations to the President of the Russian Federation, published by the "Caucasian Knot" about the need for urgent measures to ensure justice in the republic.

The appeal of the Committee Against Torture, also available on the "Caucasian Knot", tells about the work in Chechnya of the United Mobile Group (UMG) of various Russian human rights organizations, the lawyers of which found that the investigatory authorities are deprived of the opportunity to investigate cases because of unsatisfactory work of interior bodies, while investigators themselves "reveal no enthusiasm in investigating the crimes, in which, presumably, law enforcers are involved."

The appeal gives specific examples and documents that confirm the findings of human rights defenders.