23:17, 24 November 2006

Dutch human rights activists who render assistance to Chechnya residents were not registered in Russia

The human rights activists have stated that the authorities have rejected their application on re-registration of the Moscow office of the Dutch organization "Legal Initiative for Russia," which renders legal aid to Chechnya residents, the "Interfax" reports. "They say that the documents submitted by the organization have been incorrectly prepared and contain discrepancies, and that the executive director has no respective powers to represent the organization," the "Legal Initiative for Russia" explained.

The offices of the "Legal Initiative for Russia" are located in Holland and Ingushetia. The organization renders legal aid to inhabitants of Chechnya and helps them to lodge complaints on violations of their rights to the European Court for Human Rights. The partners of the "Legal Initiative for Russia" are, in particular, the Human Rights Watch, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, the Norwegian and Swedish Helsinki Committees, and the Russian Centre "Memorial."