ECtHR demands information from Russia on Khalimat Taramova's case

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg gave 10 days to Russian authorities to answer the questions on the case of Khalimat Taramova, a Chechen girl, who, according to human rights defenders, was forcibly taken to Chechnya from the Makhachkala shelter for victims of domestic violence. The publicity helped to avoid a tragedy, but now the girl's fate is in her relatives' hands, human rights defenders believe.

Akhmed Dudaev, the Chechen Minister for Nationalities' Affairs, stated earlier that human rights defenders were involved in Taramova's abduction. According to his version, the girl "has health problems."

In the opinion of Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the "Civil Assistance" Committee, there are grounds to fear about Taramova's life, given her links with the LGBT community and the story that she had ran away from her husband. She interpreted Dudaev's words that Taramova was ill as the intention of the Chechen authorities to declare the girl abnormal.

These fears are shared by Ksenia Mikhailova, a lawyer with the "Vykhod" (Way Out) initiative group of the LGBT Network. She did not rule out that Taramova could be threatened with an honour killing.

Ruslan Kutaev, President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, is sure that Taramova's relatives will insist that this story should not be publicized.

He believes that all the actions of her family are coordinated with the authorities. "As a rule, it is a shame for Chechen families when a girl leaves the family," Mr Kutaev has noted.