HRC "Memorial": in Chechnya, Christian cemeteries are desecrated

In Chechnya, Christian cemeteries are in poor condition - cattle graze in the territory of some of them, rubbish is dumped there, and fences are absent. This is reported by staff members of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". They also cite the statements of Russian local and former residents of the republic, who claim that crosses are removed from their relatives' graves, flowers are burned, and monuments got broken.

The human rights defenders received the complaints against vandalism on Christian cemeteries in Chechnya from Russian residents of the republic, and then, in this February, the staff members of the HRC "Memorial" themselves visited the central cemetery in Grozny, cemeteries in some Cossack villages, talked to the local residents and have found rightness of their statements.

The human rights defenders point out that only the intervention of the authorities can change the situation. "It is impossible to completely restore cemeteries without support of the authorities. It is obvious that the restoration of those cemeteries needs a lot of money; and the issue should be resolved at the govt's level," the HRC "Memorial" has stated.