From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 1/5/2007 5:44 AM
Further information on "Disappearance"/abduction/torture and -ill-treatment: Elina Ersenoeva (f)
Further information on "Disappearance"/abduction/torture and -ill-treatment: Elina Ersenoeva (f)
PUBLIC AI Index: EUR 46/068/2006
18 December 2006
Further Information on UA 231/06 (EUR 46/040/06, 29 August 2006) – "disappearance"/ abduction/ torture and ill-treatment
RUSSIAN FEDERATION Elina Ersenoeva (f), journalist
New name: Margarita Ersenoeva (f), her mother
Margarita Ersenoeva, the mother of journalist Elina Ersenoeva, who "disappeared" on 17 August, has not been seen since 2 October 2006, and it is believed she may have been abducted or subjected to enforced disappearance.
Margarita Ersenoeva had gone to see her mother that day, in the village of Starye Atagi in Chechnya. While she was there, she reportedly received a call on her mobile phone, and told her mother that it was from one of the investigators into her daughter’s abduction, who wanted to tell her some good news. She said this man had told her that he was currently in the same village, and she went immediately to meet with him in the building of the village administration.
However, when her family looked for her later that day, they were told that she had not arrived at the village administration and that anyway, nobody there had requested her to come.
Following media attention on the "disappearance" of Elina Ersenoeva, and revelations about her marriage to Chechen separatist fighter Shamil Basaev, it was initially thought that Margarita Ersenoeva might have gone into hiding to avoid further persecution of herself and her family. However, it is now believed that she too has been "disappeared", as she has failed to contact her friends and family.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Russian or your own language:
- expressing concern for the safety of Elina Ersenoeva and her mother, Margarita Ersenoeva, believed to have "disappeared" on 17 August and 2 October 2006 respectively;
- urging the authorities to order an impartial and thorough investigation into the alleged "disappearance" of both women;
- if the two women are found to have been detained by security forces in the Chechen Republic, urging the Russian authorities to release them immediately or else charge them with a recognizably criminal offence in accordance with Russian and international law;
- calling on the Russian authorities to protect the rights of those under its jurisdiction, no matter what their affiliations are, and to abstain from harassment and persecution of relatives of those suspected of acts of terrorism.
APPEALS TO:
Chief prosecutor of the Chechen Republic
Valerii Alekseevich Kuznetsov
Procurator of the Chechen Republic
Office of the Public Procurator of the Chechen Republic
Ul. Garazhnaia 9b, Grozny, 364000, Chechen Republic, Russian Federation
Fax: +7 8712 22 31 43
+7 8712 22 31 48 (if someone answers say "fax please")
Salutation: Dear Procurator
General prosecutor of Russian Federation
Yurii Yakovlevich Chaika
Procurator General
General Procuracy of the Russian Federation
Bolshaia Dmitrovka 15d., Moscow, 125993, Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 692 8848 (if someone answers say "fax please")
Salutation: Dear Procurator General
COPIES TO:
Chair of human rights and civil society council
Ella Aleksandrovna Pamfilova
Chairperson
The Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation
Staraya pl. 4, Moscow, 103132, Russian Federation
Email: sovetpamfilova@yandex.ru
and to diplomatic representatives of the Russian Federation accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 29 January 2007.********
