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Saturday, 26 June 2004

HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS CRITICAL OF SECURITY OPERATIONS IN INGUSHETIA

Published in News Digest

By empty (6/26/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Human rights activists have accused security agencies of violating civilians\' rights during operations to search for rebels in Ingushetia. \"Unfortunately, the situation in Ingushetia is beginning to resemble that in Chechnya ten years ago. Searches for rebels in Ingushetia have affected the civilian population and are making people very nervous,\" Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group human rights organization, told Interfax on Saturday.
Human rights activists have accused security agencies of violating civilians\' rights during operations to search for rebels in Ingushetia. \"Unfortunately, the situation in Ingushetia is beginning to resemble that in Chechnya ten years ago. Searches for rebels in Ingushetia have affected the civilian population and are making people very nervous,\" Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group human rights organization, told Interfax on Saturday. Twenty-eight people were detained during checks of settlements in Ingushetia with a predominant Chechen population. \"Nearly all of them have been released, but four are still being held by law enforcement agencies,\" she said. Chechen refugees living in the Ingush village of Altiyevo have announced their readiness to return to Chechnya, the Memorial human rights center said. The Ingush authorities, however, pledge to observe human rights while conducting special operations. \"Violating refugees\' rights would be add up to being the same as a crime committed by the guerillas during their sortie. I consider all violations of human rights unacceptable,\" Ingush President Murat Zyazikov told Interfax on Friday. The prosecutor\'s office is overseeing all search operations in towns and villages with a predominant Chechen population. \"All these efforts must proceed in compliance with the law and be supervised by the prosecutor\'s office,\" Zyazikov said. (Interfax)
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