American woman interrogated in Dagestan on the case of assault in Chechnya

Dagestan law enforcement agencies have interrogated the US citizen Kelly McEvers three times this week. The employee of Washington John Hopkins University has come to Dagestan under a UNEADCO program, reports Radio "Liberty."

According to her lawyers, McEvers was interrogated on Thursday as a witness in the case of shooting at Russian military servicemen in Nozhai-Yurt district of Chechnya in 2005. The house the American was staying at was searched; they confiscated her notebook, photo camera, dictaphone and other personal things. The lawyers intend to appeal against the actions of militia in court.

For reference, on the night of March 29, militia officers from Khasavyurt militia station detained her at the exit from the town of Khasavyurt at one of the road traffic control points. The American visited Khasavyurt under a UNEADCO program, upon an invitation of the public organization "Foundation of Humanitarian Initiatives", for taking part in training on tolerance among school-children and youth. Prior to that, she visited Derbent, Selakh Gunib and Ghimry.

Khadjimurad Kamalov, director of the "Freedom of Speech", Ltd and founder of the "Chernovik" weekly went to the scene. In the opinion of Kamalov, the US citizen most likely will be released, as there is no legal pretext for her detention and because the fact has attracted close attention of public and mass media.