21:23, 17 October 2006

"Memorial": 1948 persons kidnapped and missing in Chechnya after 2002

Chechnya is reducing the count of kidnapped people, but the problem is still pressing, Russian human rights activists are asserting. "Our monitor indicates that in 2006 as compared to 2005, the number of kidnappings went down, however, the problem remains actual," Dmitri Grushkin, representative of the Russian Human Rights Centre "Memorial," told the "Interfax" on Tuesday.

According to human rights activists, starting from 2002 till today, a total of 1948 persons were kidnapped in Chechnya. "Of them, 685 persons were released, 189 killed, 1040 still missing and 34 are on trial," Grushkin said.

He also informed that in 2006, 143 persons were kidnapped in Chechnya. "Out of that number, 70 persons were released, 8 murdered, 54 are missing and 11 are on trial," Grushkin noted. He added that the monitoring conducted by the "Memorial" Centre is covering only 25-30% of the Chechen territory, the NEWSru.com reports.