Annual project "Responsibility for violations of human rights in Northern Caucasus" is over

Participation in training seminars on judicial defence, organized by the Regional Public Movement "Chechen Committee for National Salvation" (ChCNS) has helped local lawyers in preparation and subsequent submission of more than 10 "Chechen cases" to the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights.

Ruslan Badalov, head of the ChCNS, has presented these facts at the summarizing press conference, dedicated to the outcomes of the activity results. The meeting, to which both the project managers and its direct participants were invited, took place in the office of the "Chechen Committee for National Salvation" in Nazran.

Ruslan Badalov, head of the ChCNS and project coordinator, has noted that the project was carried out under financial support of the Commission of the European Union and covered two regions - Chechnya and Ingushetia. The action program included 4 training seminars on judicial defence for Ingush and Chechen lawyers and human rights activists. Within the project, two familiarization visits to Strasbourg and Geneva were also organized for the lawyers.

The aim of the seminars was to train local human rights activists and lawyers to mechanisms and procedures of filing and submitting complaints to the Strasbourg and International Courts for Human Rights. "Judging by the outcomes, we can state that we have attained the goals," the human rights activist noted.

"We all know the current complicated situation in Northern Caucasus. In 1999, a military campaign was launched in the territory of the Chechen Republic (ChR). Unfortunately, this conflict has partly embraced the neighbouring regions. As the result - mass violations of human rights - numerous kidnappings, illegal arrests and detentions, extrajudicial executions, etc. In this situation, our task, as human rights activists, was to help the victims to defend their rights. Our project was aimed towards strengthening the responsibility for violations of human rights in Northern Caucasus through more efficient legal treatment of individual cases," Ruslan Badalov said to the journalists.

Bayali Elmurzaev, one of the participants of the project and a member of the Bar of the ChR, has noted that the knowledge obtained during training not only promoted an increased qualification level of the lawyers, but also helped them in subsequent filing and submitting complaints to the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights.

"I think we've received a great help and learned a lot of new things about how and in what particular cases one should apply to the European Court of Human Rights, about the won cases and created precedents. Thanks to the seminars, we now possess the elementary defence mechanisms and procedures of the European Court, and we are now successfully using them - after visiting Strasbourg we have filed and sent to the European Court 11 cases on violations of human rights in Chechnya. Six of them have been already accepted, and answers to five more are anticipated," he noted.

The participants of the press conference have mentioned that frequently because of counteraction of the authorities, these problems cannot be solved in full. "Counteraction of those, who, apparently, should be obliged to enforce the law, is too strong. We also see erection of artificial barriers on the way of restoration of broken rights. If the courts did not take the side of power agencies, which break the rights of citizens, it would be much easier to fight against it," Ruslan Badalov has expressed his opinion on this point.

During a meeting head ChCNS has also informed journalists that in current to year the organization will continue work on counteraction to violations of human rights in Northern Caucasus. The new project which is planned to begin with March, 2006, will include not only training, but also the organization on places of free-of-charge consultations for citizens.

"We are going to organize the work in localities to enable the lawyers file and submit their applications directly from here to Strasbourg, which will considerably quicken the process of consideration. With this aim in mind, in three republics - Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia - reception rooms of lawyers will be opened, where any interested person can receive free-of-charge legal aid, up to defence of one's interests at local courts," Mr Badalov has added in summary.