Memorial Hands President Materials on Human Rights Violations in North Caucasus

Source: HRO.org (info), 06/07/11

· Human Rights Defenders  · Dagestan  · Ingushetia  · Moscow City & Moscow Region  · Chechnya  · Victims of Conflicts 

A meeting of the Presidential Council on Civil Institutions and Human Rights with President Dmitry Medvedev was held on Tuesday, 5 July 2011, in Nal'chik (Kabardino-Balkaria). During the meeting Svetlana Gannushkina, a member of the Presidential Council, member of the Council of Memorial Human Rights Centre and chair of the Civic Assistance Committee, handed the President “Recommendations on Measures to Overcome the Crisis in the North Caucasus” (in English: http://www.memo.ru/eng/news/2011/07/08/0807111.html), as well as a number of annexes:
 
President Medvedev was also given a report on the first results of an independent investigation into the murder of Natalya Estemirova, to be made public on 14 July.
 
According to the head of the Civic Assistance Committee, Svetlana Gannushkina, the report asserts that the investigation into the murder of Natalya Estemirova is “on a false track”. Authors of the report are the International Federation for Human Rights, Memorial Human Rights Centre and Novaya gazeta.
 
In addition, Svetlana Gannushkina reminded the President of a letter written to him by non-governmental organizations concerning the issue of the failure to investigate cases of abduction in the Republic of Chechnya (in Russian: http://www.memo.ru/2011/04/20/pc/pp.html). The letter was presented at a press conference in Moscow on 20 April this year (material from the press conference in Russian: http://www.memo.ru/2011/04/20/2004111.html). The text of the letter with annexes was once again presented to the President.
 
“I wish that, of all those not actually involved in the writing of this report, you will be the first person to take it in your hands,” Svetlana Gannushkina told President Medvedev. “I hope that this will serve in some way to ensure the safety of the authors.” The report will be published on 15 July, the anniversary of the death of the human rights defender, Polit.ru has announced.
 
Annexes to the letter:  
This translation, with some minor changes, has been reproduced by kind permission of Memorial Human Rights Centre.
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