22:33, 16 May 2007

Nukhazhiev: residents of Chechnya have no trust in courts and power agencies

A total of 633 persons addressed the Chechen Ombudsman during the first three months of 2007. Compared with the same period of 2006, the number of appeals went up by more than 60%, the press service of the Republic's government reports.

"Many years of our experience confirm that the bureaucracy of the Republic's bodies of power has extremely low level of trust among the population. The fact that the number of appeals to the Ombudsman in the Chechen Republic is on the rise is another reflection of citizens' discredit to low- and middle-level employees of the state machinery," Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev has noted.

Eight percent of applicants are convicts, the "Gazeta.Ru" remarks. "Almost half of the applicants express their disagreement with court judgements - the fact illustrates that judicial bodies of the Chechen Republic are still far from fair, impartial and independent trial of all considered cases," Mr. Nukhazhiev has emphasized.