The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Vienna, 23 December 2002

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) is deeply concerned about violations of the rights of ethnic Chechens in Georgia and by the justification of these violations as being necessary for anti-terrorist operations.

On 4th October 2002, under pressure from Russian authorities, Georgian authorities extradited five Chechens to Russia without a court decision and promised to extradite others wanted by Russia in the near future. This procedure violates Georgian law as well the European Convention on Human Rights and the standards of the Council of Europe.

In an interview on the day following the extraditions, President Shevardnadze stated, “International human rights commitments might become pale in comparison with the importance of the anti-terrorist campaign.&qeot;

There is concern among the human rights community and international organizations that such a public statement made by the President will influence pending cases and future decisions regarding the extradition of Chechens to Russia.

On 7 December 2002, in Tblisi, as part of the so-called broad anti-terrorist operation, the Interior Ministry and security officials arrested and detained about a hundred Chechen refugees, including women and children. It was reported that there have been multiple violations of the rights of the detained persons, including the denial of access to lawyers of the detainees’ choice, as well as intimidation. Before being released, fingerprints of the detained were taken, as in the case of suspects, and without a court decision.

On the same day, in another set of events, Georgian forces killed five Chechen men said to be wanted by the Russian Federation. The IHF is concerned with this arbitrary execution of suspects by Georgian forces under obscure circumstances.

In November 2002, the IHF conducted a fact-finding mission to the Pankisi Gorge. We are concerned about the welfare and human rights of refugees from Chechnya living there. Since September 2002, and up to this day, access to Pankisi is restricted, especially for local civil society representatives and independent media, under the pretext of anti-terrorist operations conducted there. This makes it almost impossible for independent groups to monitor the behavior of police forces deployed in the Pankisi Gorge as well as the situation of Chechen refugees there.

Since September 2002, during so-called anti-terrorist measures conducted jointly by the Georgian Security Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, “mopping-up” operations were carried out among Chechen refugees in the Pankisi Gorge. In the course of these operations refugees were intimated and maltreated, including the case of a disappeared young Chechen male: On 20th September 2002, 25-year-old year old Hussein Yusupov was taken from a checkpoint within the Pankisi Gorge to the Anti-Terrorist Center in Tblisi. He was kept there, without a trial, for five days. Georgian authorities claim that he was released on 25th September, but since then he has been missing.

Due to the insecurity of their situation in Georgia refugees from Chechnya demand to go to a safe third country – except Russia. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) supports this demand.

We urge Georgia to refrain from the extradition of Chechens to Russia, as there is no guarantee that their rights will be protected there, and as they are at serious risk of being tortured or ill-treated and sentenced to long-term imprisonment following an unfair trial.

We also urge the Georgian authorities to ensure that independent observers are given access to the Pankisi Gorge.

The IHF demands that Georgia, as a member of the Council of Europe and the OSCE, adheres to its obligations and fulfills European human rights standards.

For further information, please contact:

Ramaz Rekhviashvili, Chairman Caucasian Centre for Human Rights, + 995-32-29 34 88
Dr. Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, + 43 – (0) 1 – 408 88 22 or
+43- (0) 676 – 635 66 12
Henriette Schroeder, IHF Press Officer, +43 – (0) 676 – 725 48 29