Russian rights group doesn't want Chechens to probe attack
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 4 June 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russian rights group doesn't want Chechens to probe attack, 4 June 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/558bc4e015.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
June 04, 2015
The leader of a prominent Russian human rights group whose office was trashed by unknown individuals in Grozny does not want Chechen authorities to investigate the incident.
Igor Kalyapin, the chief of the NGO Committee Against Torture (KPP), said at a session of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights on June 4 that the doesn't trust Chechen authorities and wants the incident to be investigated by officials from at least the regional level of the North Caucasus.
A violent gang attacked the KPP's Grozny office on June 3, forcing its employees to flee from the windows of their second-floor offices.
Kalyapin said Grozny police did not answer his phone calls for two hours while the group's car and offices were destroyed.
The state-owned Grozny television station described the incident as a protest of "civil organizations and representatives of the civil society" against what they described as the "politicizing" of the NGO's work.
Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov said police were investigating the incident and that any unlawful actions will be punished.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
Link to original story on RFE/RL website