Chechen human rights activists boil over Shamanov as Deputy Minister of Defence

Appointment of Vladimir Shamanov, a former commander of one of military groupings in Chechnya, to the post of Deputy Minister of Defence of Russia has caused an extremely negative reaction among representatives of Chechen human rights organizations.

Nurdi Nukhaziev, Ombudsman for the Chechen Republic, was among the first to comment on this appointment. "I've discussed Shamanov's appointment with people of different professions and opposing political views, but all of them have agreed that this general was guilty of mass violations of the rights of local population, he planted fear and horror in the Republics, therefore, he doesn't deserve this high post in the Ministry of Defence," he said in his interview to one of Russian mass media.

"General Vladimir Shamanov is a castigator and a butcher, and not a veteran officer as they depict him in Russia," a leader of one of local human rights organizations said in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "He fought mostly with defenceless women and children than with militants. Examples are in massacre and murder of peaceful residents in Alkhan-Yurt village of the Urus-Martan District and the events of February 2000 in Kotar-Yurt village of the Achkhoy-Martan District. It was the operation zone of Shamanov's grouping."