Russian Officials Cover Up Civilian Deaths

By Kenneth F. Hunt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – A human rights watchdog and Kremlin-friendly ombudsman blamed Russian federal officials with the deaths of four civilians killed in Ingushetia on February 11 and 12. Moreover, evidence is mounting that officials covered up the identities of the casualties and the cause of their death.

On Tuesday February 16, Nurdi Nukhadjiyev, the human rights ombudsman in Chechnya, said that federal forces were to blame for the deaths of four innocent civilians who were killed during an effort by the Kremlin to root out Islamic militants in the Ingushetia region.

This comes just one day after Memorial, a Moscow-based human rights watchdog group, similarly accused the Kremlin of a direct role in the death of the civilians.

The four civilians were killed along with 18 suspected Islamic insurgents during the two-day operation. Memorial, and now Mr. Nukhazhiyev, claims the civilians were caught in cross-fire while gathering wild garlic in the forest during the aerial and artillery bombardment in the Sunza district of Ingushetia over the weekend.

Initially, local and federal officials claimed that 22 Islamic militants were killed. But these new revelations indicate that four of the deaths were civilians. These reports directly contradict the information provided by Russian counter-terrorism officials after the weekend operations.

In addition to the death count revelation, Memorial claims that the cause of death is different than reported by Russian officials. Memorial claims that three civilians were killed by gunfire while one was knifed in the back. Russian officials still maintain that all deaths can be attributed to air bombardment.

But despite denial of these allegations, Ingushetian leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov apologized for the “unfortunate deaths” of the civilians and compensated their families. But in doing so, Mr. Yevkurov emphasized that the civilians were only victims of cross-fire, and denied allegations of intentional killings of the civilians.

Despite these gestures, Mr. Nukhadjiyev claims that the ongoing investigations of the killings will not be objective because of the interests of the Kremlin to cover up the truth. Mr. Nukhadjiyev wants a formal investigation into the civilian deaths by independent prosecutors.

For more information, please see:

E TAIWAN NEWS – Russian rights advocate blames police for deaths – 16 February 2010

RADIO FREE EUROPE – Rights Activists Dispute Russian Account Of Chechen Killings – 16 February 2010

NEW YORK TIMES – Russia’s Version of Four Deaths Disputed – 15 February 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive