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Bomb explodes near acting Chechen president’s convoy
Acting Chechen President Sergei Abramov narrowly escaped injury in a bomb attack in Grozny on Tuesday. One person was killed and another two were injured when an explosive device was set off on Tuesday in the Leninsky region of Grozny near acting Chechen President Sergei Abramov´s convoy. Abramov was not injured. (13-JULY-04)
Ilascu and Others vs. Moldova and Russia
The Republic of Moldova and Russian Federation are guilty of non-respecting the human rights in the case of Ilascu group. Strasbourg court pronounced on 7th of July the sentence in the case “Ilie Ilascu si other versus the Republic of Moldova and Russian Federation”. (12-JULY-04)
Chechen elections a Putin directed farce, says Moscow Helsinki Group
The results of the October 5th 2003 presidential elections in the Chechen Republic – with an 87% turn-out and an 81% majority voting for the acting President Akhmad Kadyrov – were only made possible through major fraud and falsification of results, says a recent Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) report. According to the MHG election observers, the elections were a farce, made worse by the full endorsement of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. (18-JAN-2004)
Full report on presidential election in the Chechen Republic now available
Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG), a member of the Moscow Human Rights House, has completed its report on the presidential elections in the Chechen Republic. ´Presidential Election in the Chechen Republic – October 2003. Human Rights Context,´ is available in both Russian and English, and will be launched at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe this month. (18-JAN-2005)
Online action for the Chechen Republic armed conflict victims
The Human Rights Network Group and its website Human Rights Online has initiated a public action for the Chechen Republic and a commemoration of the victims of the war there. The war, now in its tenth year, is still ongoing. (12-DEC-03)
Non-Centrists to become ‘minorities’ in the new Duma
The Dec 7 Russian parliamentary elections dramatically demonstrated the failure of the smaller, non-centrist and opposition parties to make an impression on its country´s politics. According to a preliminary report, the leading ´Edinstvo´ party, advertising itself as ´acting together with the President´ took 36,8% of the votes. Only three other parties (no Rights-wings among them) surpassed the 5% level required to enter the new parliament. The analysts say the Duma is likely to be not just pro-presidential, but purely ´presidential´. (08-DEC-03)
UN adopts NGOs’ observations on human rights in Russia
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has adopted the concluding remarks of the 4th periodic report of the Russian Federation on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Having welcomed dialogue between NGOs and the official delegation, the Committee identified 27 ´negative´ and only 5 ´positive´ areas in the field of social and economic rights in the Russian Federation. (06-DEC-03)
Chechnyan living conditions recognized as prime international concern
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has recognized the poor living conditions in the Chechen Republic as its biggest concern in all of the Russian Federation. In its concluding remarks on Russia´s 4th periodic report on the implementation of the Committee´s International Covenant, the Russian State is urged to allocate sufficient funds to reinstate basic services, including health and educational infrastructure, in the Chechen Republic. (06-DEC-03)
NGOs still raising voice for Khodorkovsky
Russian NGOs do not agree with the president Putin´s decision to stop the “hysteria about YUKOS”, the oil giant. Its former leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky is still in prison and accused in several crimes. Human rights activists deeply concerned with the Russian state power turning back to repressive methods of ruling the country. Some even call Khodorkovsky´s arrest the “start of the fight with civil society” in the Russian Federation. (03-DEC-03)