Fire experts state that fire in JMG office in Chechnya was caused by arson

In December 2014, the office of the Joint Mobile Group (JMG) of rights defenders in Chechnya, was set on fire in three places – this is evidenced by fire-technical expertises, carried out under the criminal investigation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the above fire in the apartment in Grozny, where the JMG office of the Committee against Torture (CaT) occurred on December 13, 2014.

According to experts' conclusions, the office was set on fire intentionally. Rights defenders note that the conclusions were quite predictable.

According to Timur Rakhmatulin, the head of the JMG, "the cynicism of arsonists is striking, who didn't think that the fire could spread to neighbouring apartments, in many of which families with elderly people and children live."

Today, more than six months after the arson, rights defenders know nothing on whether investigators have even hypothetical versions of the crime and suspects, Anton Ryzhov, a lawyer of the CaT.

On June 3, unidentified persons again attacked the JMG office. A criminal case was also opened on this fact. However, on June 4 experts of the Presidential Council for Human Rights said that the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF) will be able to hold an effective investigation into the attack on the JMG in Grozny, only if it is conducted at the federal level.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.