Russia's prosecutor for Chechnya, Vsevolod Chernov, said rebels used Zdorovye as their own cemetery. He said many of the bodies were dressed in rebel-style camouflage, and some appeared to be foreign mercenaries. He did not say how the rebels might have transported so many bodies without attracting the notice of Russian soldiers at a nearby checkpoint or their heavily guarded camp at Khankala. Human rights groups and journalists, among others, have documented repeated cases of looting, rape, torture, unlawful detention and summary execution of Chechens since the start of the second conflict in October 1999. The New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report last month that it had documented the cases of 113 Chechens who disappeared after they were detained by Russian soldiers.
Prosecutions are exceedingly rare.
Military prosecutors have brought charges in only eight alleged crimes against Chechen civilians. Another 29 cases are under investigation. Tatiana Kasatkina, the executive director of Memorial, who saw two dozen corpses at Zdorovye, said that Russian investigators were working with nothing but scalpels and rubber gloves. No attempt was made to preserve the bodies. After relatives identified 16 corpses, the prosecutor ordered that the 34 others be buried, saying the forensic investigation was completed.