Russia has to pay for chilling TV execution

Mother watches as General orders son to be killed on CNN

HUNDREDS of claims against Russia may follow a landmark European Court of Human Rights ruling in Strasbourg over the disappearance of a young Chechnen, human rights groups say.

The court ordered Moscow to pay €35000 to Fatima Bazorkina, mother of Khadzimurat Yandiyev in compensation for the inhumane treatment she endured trying to ascertain her son’s fate.

Her search was triggered by chilling images shown by CNN around the world on February 2, 2000, in which Yandiy was involved in an arguement with a Russian general, during which the generalordered his execution.

The injured 25-year-old Chechen argued with General Alexander Baranov after soldiers demanded to see his papers.

“Get him the heck out of here,” the General shouts, according to CNN’s English voiceover.

But in Russian, he can clearly be heard saying: “Rub him out, kill him, damn it. That’s your entire order. Get him over there. Rub him out. Shoot him.”

The imageswere seen by Bazorkina, who immediately began a desperate search for her son.

Yandiyev, who had travelled to Chechnya in search of his father, was never seen again. His body has not been found.

When she found no trace of him she launched a quest for justice against the Russian military.

This week the court ruled that Russia had violated Yandiyev’s right to life and failed to conduct a proper investigation.General Baranov was promoted in 2004 and received a Hero of Russia medal in 2005. He now commands all the troops in southern Russia.

“I hope that now I can find the truth and my country will answer the question: where is my son?” Bazorkina, who lives in Ingushetia, told The Times.

“My case is not the only one. Other mothers will see that I have won and will now take their cases to the European Court.”

There are at least 150 more Chechen disappearance cases under consideration in Strasbourg, and Human rights groups say many others could follow, as up to 5000 people have disappeared in Chechnya since 1999, when Russian troops re-entered the region.

Russia has three months to appeal, and is almost certain to dispute the embarrassing verdict.

After she saw the CNN report, Bazorkina visited detention centres and prisons and wrote to several government departments.

Prosecutors finally opened a criminal case in July 2001, but closed it in February 2004, citing a lack of evidence.

Bazorkina took her case to Strasbourg with the help of a Netherlands organisation, the Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (SRJI).

Doina Straisteanu, the legal director of the organisation, said she was satisfied with the court’s verdict.

“We’re happy for the applicant and for the sake of all the other applications that are pending,” she said.

“This shows that Russia should change its attitude towards the impunity of Russian forces in Chechnya. Such crimes cannot stay unpunished.”

The verdict also raised concerns that Russian authorities might crack down on foreign-funded NGOs that are helping Chechens to take their cases to Strasbourg.

The authorities issued a $180000 back-tax bill this month to the International Protection Centre, which has also helped people to take Chechnya-related cases to the European Court.

— ©The Times, London