23:36, 2 April 2004

Amnesty International: situation in Ingushetia worsened

The situation in Ingushetia has worsened recently, stated Kim Wiesener, Russia Researcher at Amnesty International, who paid a week-long visit to Chechnya and Ingushetia. The evidence of this is in the wave of kidnappings during the past 2-3 months, he said. Speaking about the campaign for refugees' return to Chechnya from tent camps in Ingushetia, Mr Wiesener noted that "the situation here hasn't changed ? the refugees are still being pressured to leave by the authorities."

The number of human rights violations in Chechnya itself has remained the same, but Mr Wiesener believes the balance has changed. "Kadyrov violates human rights more than ever before. Although no recent statistics are available, it's apparent that people fear his forces more than they do the federal troops," he said.

Amnesty International will prepare a detailed report on human rights violations, it will be based on the results of the monitoring in Chechnya and Ingushetia, Mr Wiesener added.

Author: Timur Aliyev, CK correspondent

Source: Prague Watchdog