WRITTEN QUESTION E-0033/03

by Olivier Dupuis (NI) to the Commission

(21 January 2003)

Subject: Extrajudicial killings in Grozny

The Russian press agency Prima news has reported that the bodies of three Oil Institute students were discovered on 29 December near a bus terminal in the Oktyabr district, Grozny. The bodies carried the marks of a violent death: all three throats had been cut, and their heads showed signs of being shot at close range.

The three eighteen-year-old students Khyzyr Dotuyev, Bogdan Bikayev and Ramzan Dzhabrailov all came from the village of Makhkety in Vedeno region, and had rented a flat together in Grozny, in order not to travel every day from Makhkety to their classes. According to neighbours, the young men were arrested and taken away in armoured vehicles by Russian troops. Teaching staff of the Oil Institute wrote to all the authorities, including a personal appeal to the head of the pro-Russian head of the Chechen Government, Akhmad Kadyrov, but no steps were taken to search for the missing men.

Is the Commission informed about the discovery of the bodies of Khyzyr Dotuyev, Bogdan Bikayev and Ramzan Dzhabrailov in Grozny? Has the Commission reacted to this umpteenth extrajudicial killing in Chechnya? Does the Commission still believe that these continual extrajudicial killings in Chechnya (still part of the Russian Federation) are compatible with its very constructive policy toward the Russian Federation?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(3 February 2003)

The situation in Chechnya is of deep concern to the Commission, which roundly condemns all abuses of human rights. There is no justification for such abuses.

The Commission has been informed about press reports concerning the tragic deaths of the three students. The Commission has called on the relevant Russian authorities to vigorously investigate all reports of human rights abuses. In this regard, the Commission is ready to participate in discussions and initiatives on Chechnya with international institutions such as the Council of Europe, which actively supports the work of the Presidential Representative for Human Rights in Chechnya, Mr Sultygov. The Commission does, however, deeply regret the closure of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Assistance Group to Chechnya, which played a valuable role in promoting respect for human rights. Discussions with a view to finding a solution so that the AG can remain in Chechnya with a meaningful mandate are ongoing. The situation is under constant review at the Council, which has suggested a human rights dialogue with Russia.

The Commission supports the Union's overall position, which is that developing a broadly based partnership with Russia is a vital objective, but that implementation of shared values, especially in the fields of democracy and human rights, must be a key element of that partnership. The conflict has claimed thousands of lives and caused untold suffering in the northern Caucasus. The Commission has raised this issue within the framework of the Union's bilateral political dialogue with the Russian Federation at the Union-Russia Ministerial meeting of 24 January 2003 in Athens.