17 September 2008, 12:42
Liudmila Alekseeva is concerned about human rights situation in Ingushetia
On September 16, Liudmila Alekseeva, well-known human rights defender and leader of the Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) arrived to Ingushetia.
Right after her arrival by air to the city of Magas, Ms Alekseeva met President of Ingushetia Murat Zyazikov, as well as the prime minister, public prosecutor and head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic.
"The leaders of Ingushetia told me about the social and economic development of the Republic and expressed their pain and anxiety with the situation of Ingush refugees who cannot return to the Prigorodny District of North Ossetia. The public prosecutor said that people live in heavy conditions, and in his opinion this is one of the factors of tension," the "Newsru.com" Agency quotes Ms Alekseeva as saying.
"I asked about the reason of a strange thing - in Ingushetia mainly militiamen and bureaucrats are attacked. They answered that, apparently, the reason was in existence of terrorist underground," said the human rights activist.
According to the leader of the MHG, on September 16 she also met Ingush oppositionist Maksharip Aushev and representatives of human rights and public organizations.
"People complained of violations of their rights by employees of power agencies. There were complaints of illegal detentions and kidnappings in Ingushetia. Basically, young people disappear, and it strongly worries," said Liudmila Alekseeva.
"It's too early to make conclusions. I'll have many more meetings with simple people in Ingushetia," Ms Alekseeva has noted. She plans to make the outcomes of her travel public later in September, the "Interfax" reports.
