Chechnya resumes investigation of kidnappings of locals in 1995 and 2002

At the request of the local Prosecutor's Office, the investigating authorities of Chechnya have resumed the criminal case about the kidnapping in 1995 of a resident of the Shatoy District. Also, the Office has initiated a criminal inquiry into the kidnapping in January 2002 of another local resident – from the city of Gudermes, the Prosecutor's Office has reported.

The first case refers to the incident that occurred on July 16, 1995, when Lecha Khamidov, a resident of the village of Malye Varandy, Shatoy District, was captured and taken to some unknown place by unidentified armed men in military uniform.

The investigation into another kidnapping committed in Chechnya has been resumed in Gudermes. The incident occurred on January 11, 2002, when a group of armed men in military uniform broke into a house of local residents; without any explanations they grasped Ali Timerbulatov, 31, and forced him away. Since then, the fate of the man is unknown.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" has reported that relatives of the persons kidnapped during the large-scale counterterrorist operation in Chechnya appealed to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg; and the Court has made many decisions in favour of the applicants.