05 February 2009, 18:00
Today is nine years after Novye Aldy residents were executed in Chechnya
According to human rights activists, nine years ago, in the course of a wide-scale "zachistka" (clean-up) conducted in the settlement of Novye Aldy and adjacent districts of Grozny, 56 persons were killed. In spite of the fact that the power units, which held this "special action", have been established, those guilty of assassinating unarmed people remain unpunished.
In winter of 1999-2000, Novye Aldy settlement and other districts located in the outskirts of Grozny were constantly exposed to bomb attacks and artillery shelling by federal troops. The shelling of the settlement continued also after groups of militants had left the capital of Chechnya.
"On February 3, 2000, about 100 residents of the settlement raised a white flag and marched to the line of the militaries deployed in the vicinity of the settlement. However, they opened fire on them without any warning. A local resident, Russian national, was heavily wounded and later died," an employee of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Grozny told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
On the following day, residents managed to meet the command of that military unit, and later on that day militaries held a check of passports in Novye Aldy.
The human rights activist has added: "According to local residents, some of the soldiers told them that 'monsters' would come after them, who have the order 'to kill everybody', and offered them to immediately leave their homes. The residents didn't pay any special attention to the warnings."
In the morning on February 5, 2000, special militia units entered Novye Aldy. (According to the data of the HRC "Memorial", these were OMON (Special Police Force) units from St-Petersburg and Ryazan Region.) Faces of the fighters were covered by camouflage paste.
Within several hours, over 50 persons became victims of extrajudicial executions, a one-year-old baby, nine women and eleven elderly residents of the settlement among them. The OMON fighters not only shot dead innocent citizens and set their houses on fire, but were marauding and extorting money and golden decorations from them under threats of physical execution.
No serious investigation of the facts of extrajudicial executions of Novye Aldy residents was ever held. On March 3, 2000, the military prosecutor's office made a decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case on the fact of the massacre in Novye Aldy. The main reason of the refusal was that "the militaries of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, who are under jurisdiction of the military prosecutor's office, did not conduct any warfare in those days in Aldy settlement, as well as checks of passports," therefore, "there were no crime attributes in their actions."
Later, some Novye Aldy residents filed complaints to the Strasbourg Court on Human Rights. In summer of 2007, four of these complaints were satisfied by the European Court.
Today, the office of the Scientific and Information Centre "Memorial", located in St-Petersburg at No. 23, Office 103, Rubinstein Street, д. 23, will host a public function in memory of Novye Aldy tragedy victims. A documentary will be shown at the event, filmed a couple of days after the massacre in the settlement. On February 6, at 5-6 p.m., a mourning picket will be held in Malaya Konyushenaya Street, near the monument to Gogol.
: "Picket in memory of "zachistka" victims in Novye Aldy held in Moscow," "Anti-War Committee: murderers of Novye Aldy residents live in St. Petersburg," "HRC "Memorial": European Court's decisions animate investigation into crimes committed in Chechnya."
Author: Sultan Abubakarov Source: CK correspondent
September 20, 2024 23:28
-
Human rights defenders recognize blogger Askhabali Alibekov as political prisoner
The charge of using violence against a policeman does not correspond to the circumstances of the blogger Askhabali Alibekov’s case. The authorities are forcing the blogger to stop his opposition activities by persecuting him, the “Support for political prisoners. Memorial” human rights project states.
September 20, 2024 23:13
-
Natives of Ingushetia and Chechnya killed in shooting near “Wildberries” office in Moscow
As a result of shooting which took place near an office of the “Wildberries” Company in Moscow, Islambek Elmurziev, a 28-year-old master of sports in freestyle wrestling from Ingushetia, and Adam Almazov, a 41-year-old deputy commander of the “Akhmat-1” OMON (riot police) battalion from Chechnya, have been killed, sources report.
September 20, 2024 22:25
-
SC upholds sentence of Volgograd resident Paskar for setting fire to rug near FSB building
The cassation court refused to grant an appeal lodged against the sentence of Igor Paskar, a resident of Volgograd, who was sentenced to 8.5 years of imprisonment for setting fire to a rug near an FSB building in Krasnodar. The above information has been reported by the “OVD-Info”* human rights project.
September 20, 2024 21:52
-
Sentence in absentia for aiding terrorism upheld against Stavropol resident Denis Mamedov
The military court of appeal upheld the sentence to 16 years of imprisonment for aiding and abetting terrorism pronounced against Denis Mamedov, a former official from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in Stavropol. The above information has been reported by the “OVD-Info”* human rights project.
September 20, 2024 20:06
-
Volgograd resident detained for justifying terrorism
Agents of the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) have detained an earlier convicted Volgograd resident for his post in a messenger, seeing support for banned terrorist organizations in them.
-
September 20, 2024 23:28
Human rights defenders recognize blogger Askhabali Alibekov as political prisoner
-
September 20, 2024 23:13
Natives of Ingushetia and Chechnya killed in shooting near “Wildberries” office in Moscow
-
September 19, 2024 23:57
Fear of execution forces Dagestani resident to apologize to Kadyrov after road accident
-
September 19, 2024 22:39
Rights defenders find Andzor Kudaev's torture statement convincing
-
September 19, 2024 21:41
Activist Olga Begretova loses appeal in forced fingerprinting case
-
September 20, 2024 23:28
Human rights defenders recognize blogger Askhabali Alibekov as political prisoner
-
September 20, 2024 23:13
Natives of Ingushetia and Chechnya killed in shooting near “Wildberries” office in Moscow
-
September 19, 2024 23:57
Fear of execution forces Dagestani resident to apologize to Kadyrov after road accident
-
September 19, 2024 22:39
Rights defenders find Andzor Kudaev's torture statement convincing
-
September 19, 2024 21:41
Activist Olga Begretova loses appeal in forced fingerprinting case
-
September 20, 2024 23:28
Human rights defenders recognize blogger Askhabali Alibekov as political prisoner -
September 20, 2024 23:13
Natives of Ingushetia and Chechnya killed in shooting near “Wildberries” office in Moscow -
September 20, 2024 22:25
SC upholds sentence of Volgograd resident Paskar for setting fire to rug near FSB building -
September 20, 2024 21:52
Sentence in absentia for aiding terrorism upheld against Stavropol resident Denis Mamedov -
September 20, 2024 20:06
Volgograd resident detained for justifying terrorism -
September 19, 2024 23:57
Fear of execution forces Dagestani resident to apologize to Kadyrov after road accident -
September 19, 2024 22:39
Rights defenders find Andzor Kudaev's torture statement convincing -
September 19, 2024 21:41
Activist Olga Begretova loses appeal in forced fingerprinting case -
September 19, 2024 20:38
Appellate court leaves Ingush activists, Nalgiev and Khautiev, in colony -
September 19, 2024 18:31
Natalia Fedorenko, advocate of blogger Kharchenko*, complains about court's accusatory bias