Commissioner reports on situation in Russia

Alvaro Gil-Robles, Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council of Europe, delivered a detailed report on the situation in Russia to the COE Committee of Ministers, in which he called on the Kremlin to punish those guilty of disappearances in Chechnya and to protect freedom of speech, BBC says.

The report concludes the government controls all central broadcasting media in Russia. Gil-Robles says he was "shocked" to learn from Russian newspaper editors and leading journalists that there had been about thirty live programmes two or three years ago, while there is none currently. He observes at the same time that freedom of speech generally remains in place in print media, although relatively few people have access to newspapers and magazines reflecting alternative viewpoints.

Speaking about Chechnya, the commissioner noted a basically improved situation there, but said there was a need to develop civil society institutes and reconstruct the republican capital which continued to lie "in ruins."

Alvaro Gil-Robles claims abductions are not rare in Chechnya, even thought their numbers have somewhat declined. He says there are three reasons for such disappearances: rebels in the mountains abduct people in the course of terrorist acts; some people are abducted for ransom; and, obviously, federal forces and the Chechen police are also involved in such criminal activities.

The report also mentions growth of xenophobia in Russia, including more frequent attacks on representatives of national minorities, people from the Caucasus and foreigners; and terrorist acts against synagogues and desecrations of Jewish cemeteries.

• Commissioner reports human rights violations in N Caucasus

More about North Caucasus:

• Human Rights Practices in Russia's North Caucasus - 2004
• EU Fails to Take Action