Rights defenders tell about identification of remains of missing residents of Northern Caucasus

The work of searching for the remains of the people who disappeared during the military campaigns in Chechnya is too slow, local residents said on the occasion of the Day of Missing People. Methods for identifying the remains are being improved, but there is no progress in investigating the deaths of these people and similar crimes in other regions of Northern Caucasus, human rights defenders have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since the spring of 2013, Chechnya has been issuing genetic passports to relatives of those who disappeared and were kidnapped during the hostilities. By August 2017, according to the Ministry for National Policy, Information and Press of Chechnya, more than 900 residents of the republic had received such passports.

The work is progressing too slowly, relatives of those missing assert. "Several thousand people are regarded as missing, but over the years they managed to establish the fates of 12 people," said Leyla, a resident of Grozny, whose brother has been missing since 2000.

According to Alexander Mukomolov, the head of the General Lebed Peacekeeping Mission, in Northern Caucasus, there are 7000-8000 missing people, who disappeared during the Chechen Wars.

According to Magomed Mutsolgov, the head of the human rights organization "Mashr", since 2002 other 226 people have disappeared. In 2003, his brother Bashir, who worked as a teacher, was kidnapped near his house.

According to the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), more than 3000 residents of the republic are in the database of missing people.