"Memorial": houses of militants' relatives are set on fire in Chechnya

In Chechnya, arsons of houses of militants' relatives continue. Since summer of 2008, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" has fixed 26 such cases. Human rights activists assert that arsons of houses are used as an instrument of pressure on relatives of those whose children are in the forest.

"Arsons are made at least upon silent approval of Chechen authorities," employees of the HRC "Memorial" emphasize. Thus, human rights activists remind that President of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov said as follows about militants' relatives: "we need to use Chechen customs."

"In old times, such people were damned and expelled. It's normal; they'll convey the information to their relatives in the woods. They'll warn them: 'Today militia came to us, take care, let Allah safe you.' They bring food and help them. Militants kill our militiamen and burn down their houses. There's not a single family that doesn't communicate with its relatives in the forest," human rights defenders quote Chechen President's speech at the sitting of the government on August 9, 2008 (broadcast by the "Grozny" TV Channel at 9:37 p.m.).

The defenders note that this sort of tactics was also actively used by militants against those who turned to support the current Republic's power.

One of the latest arsons of the house of militants' relatives was registered by human rights activists at night on March 13 in the city of Shali in Chechnya. Unidentified persons set on fire the house of Aslanbek Ebishev.

The day before, on March 12, the City House of Culture hosted a meeting of the district leaders and law enforcers with the local youth on the topic of fighting Wahhabism. Yusup Ebishev was invited to the meeting who was the first to take the floor. He said that "Wahhabism should be counteracted jointly, by militia, prosecutor's office and public organizations."

All the subsequent speakers refuted Yusup's words about the responsibility not only of parents, but also of the society and law enforcement bodies, for young men's departure "to the forest".

At night of that day, two cars stopped near Ebishevs' house. Armed people in masks jumped out of them and climbed into the yard; a couple of minutes later the house of Aslanbek Ebishev, Yusup's brother, was on fire.

It is already the second arson in Ebishev family. On the night of August 28, 2008, employees of still unknown Republic's power agencies set Yusup Ebishev's house on fire. On the same night, the Muslievs' house was set on fire in Shali. In the opinion of their relatives from Chechnya, the reason of these arsons was the fact that their children had joined militant groupings.