Spreading Despair: Russian Abuses in Ingushetia

Synopsis

The brutality of the four-year armed conflict in Chechnya has started spilling across the border to the neighboring republic of Ingushetia. In the summer of 2003, Russian forces based in Chechnya and the forces of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration conducted a series of operations in Ingushetia, in which they replicated many of the same abuses as those they committed during operations in Chechnya. Alerted to these developments, Human Rights Watch conducted a research mission to Ingushetia from July 5 to 11, 2003. Through interviews with more than forty victims, witnesses, and government officials, we documented the abuses committed by federal and local military, security, and police forces on the territory of Ingushetia in June and early July 2003. Until recently, Ingushetia remained a relatively safe refuge for tens of thousands internally displaced persons who had fled the fighting in Chechnya. In 2002, claiming the situation in Chechnya had "normalized," Russian authorities started pressuring internally displaced persons living in Ingushetia to return home. Federal and local migration officials employed various methods to pressure displaced persons to go back-they threatened displaced Chechens with the imminent closure of tent camps in the middle of winter; removed hundreds of people from the camp registration lists effectively denying them aid and causing them to be evicted. Additionally, they blocked the construction of alternative shelters in Ingushetia.

Copyright:

2003

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

6 Pages

Publisher:

N/A

Date of Addition:

05/06/05

Copyrighted By:

Human Rights Watch

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History

Submitted By:

hrw_volunteers hrw_volunteers

Proofread By:

hrw_volunteers hrw_volunteers

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.