CHECHEN REFUGEES MUST STAY PUT!

I would also appreciate it if someone would be so kind as to translate
this message into Russian and circulate it as widely as possible among
the Chechen Diaspora.

Thank you.

Francis A. Boyle

Professor of International Law

—–Original Message—–

From: Boyle, Francis

Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 12:59 PM

To: ‘chechnya-sl@yahoogroups.com‘

Cc: ‘Norbert Strade (nost@… <mailto:nost@…> )’

Subject: CHRI TO UNHCR:SAVE CHECHEN REFUGEES!

CHECHEN REPUBLIC OF ICHKERIA

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

# 10-801 ____________________________________________ June 18, 2002 The
Honorable Ruud Lubbers United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Fax: + 41 22 739 73 46

Dear Excellency:

We note and commend the fine work that the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees and you personally have done with respect
to preventing the return of Chechen Refugees from Ingushettia back to
the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

In this regard, attached you will find a formal Memorandum of Law dated
11 July 2001 that was prepared by the Attorney of Record for the CHRI,
Professor Francis A. Boyle, for the benefit of the appropriate officials
in the German Government. This Memorandum fully states our legal
position with respect to why Chechen Refugees must not be involuntarily
returned to Chechnya at this time as a matter of both customary and
conventional international law, including and especially the basic
principle of non-refoulement as set forth in Article 33 of the 1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol.

For all the reasons set forth in this Memorandum, we respectfully
request that the Office of UNHCR and you personally act to prevent the
involuntary return of Chechen Refugees to Chechnya from anywhere in the
world, including and especially from Ingushettia and Germany.

Should you have any questions on this matter, please feel free to
contact our Attorney of Record, Professor Francis A. Boyle, as indicated
below. Professor Boyle has Full Powers to represent the interests of
Chechen Refugees and Displaced Persons anywhere in the world.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurance of our highest consideration.

Ilyas Akhmadov

Foreign Minister

cc: Professor Francis A. Boyle

Attorney of Record for the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Law Building

504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.

Champaign, IL 61820 USA

217-333-7954      (voice)

217-244-1478(fax)

fboyle@… <mailto:fboyle@…>

Francis A. Boyle

Law Building

504 E. Pennsylvania Ave.

Champaign, IL 61820 USA

217-333-7954      (voice)

217-244-1478(fax)

fboyle@… <mailto:fboyle@…>
<mailto:fboyle@… <mailto:fboyle@…> > July 11, 2001
H.E. Gerhard Schroder Chancellor Federal Republic of Germany

Fax: 9-011-49-30-4000-1818

H.E. Joschka Fischer H.E. Otto Schily

Minister of Foreign Affairs Minister of Interior Federal Republic of
Germany Federal Republic of Germany

Fax: 9-011-49-1888-173402 Fax: 9-011-49-1888-681-2926 Dear Excellencies:

I write to request that the German Government rescind its decision to
deport Chechen Refugees currently residing in Germany. Under the current
circumstances, their deportation into the hands of the Russian
Federation would violate their basic human rights under the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as under several treaties
to which Germany is a contracting party. To wit:

I.

First, for Germany to deport these Chechen Refugees into the hands of
the Russian Federation would violate the basic principle of customary
international law and international human rights law known as
non-refoulement, as set forth in Article 33, section 1 of the 1951
Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, to
which Germany is a contracting party: "No contracting state shall expel
or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of
territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of
his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group
or political opinion.” Every major human rights organization in the
world, including and especially Human Rights Watch and Amnesty
International, have determined that the Russian Federation is currently
threatening and destroying the very Lives and Freedoms of the Chechen
People on account of their Race, Religion, Nationality, and Political
Opinion.

II.

Second, Germany cannot deport these Chechen Refugees into the hands of
the Russian Federation because to do so would violate Article 3 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, which prohibits the expulsion, return or
extradition of a person to a state where there are substantial grounds
for believing he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
Germany is a Contracting Party to this Convention. The Russian
Federation is also a contracting party to this Convention. Nevertheless,
every major human rights organization in the world, including and
especially Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have determined
that the Russian Federation is currently inflicting Torture, Cruel,
Inhuman and Degrading Treatment upon the Chechen People in gross
violation of this Convention against Torture.

In this regard, I call to your attention the fact that on 10 July 2001,
the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
publicly denounced the Russian Federation for failing to cooperate with
its efforts to shed light on the ill-treatment of detainees in Chechnya.
See Gilbert Reilhac, Torture Watchdog Rebukes Russia on Chechnya,
Reuters, July 10,

2001:

….

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), a body of
the 43-nation Council of Europe of which Russia is a member, said CPT
experts who visited the region in March found "a palpable climate of
fear” and heard consistent allegations of severe ill-treatment by
Russian security forces.

In a public statement, it said Russia had breached its treaty
obligations to advise the CPT what it was doing to uncover and prosecute
those responsible for such abuses.

Russia had also made clear that it intended to ignore a CPT
recommendation for an independent inquiry into ill-treatment at a
detention center in the village of Chernokozovo, in northwest Chechnya,
between December 1999 and early February 2000.

"To date, an inquiry of the kind requested by the CPT has not been
carried out and the Russian authorities have now made it clear that they
have no intention of organizing such an inquiry,” the statement said.

Russia now contended that no such detention facility existed at the
time, which was "clearly untenable,” the CPT said.

It was only the third time in 11 years that the CPT had issued a public
statement denouncing a Council of Europe member state for failure to
cooperate with its work.

….

Last week, the New York-based international group Human Rights Watch
said Russian troops had rounded up hundreds of men during a security
sweep through villages in western Chechnya and tortured and beaten many
of them.

….

Experts who visited the region in March this year heard "numerous
credible and consistent allegations…of severe ill-treatment by federal
forces,” the statement said.

"The CPT’s delegation found a palpable climate of fear. Many people who
had been ill-treated and others who knew about such offences were
reluctant to file complaints to the authorities.

"There was the fear of reprisals at local level and a general sentiment
that, in any event, justice would not be done,” the statement added.

As a Member of the Council of Europe and as a contracting party to the
Convention against Torture, Germany is obligated to refrain from
deporting Chechen Refugees into the hands of the Russian Federation
where they will be subjected to Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading
Treatment, as determined by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the
Prevention of Torture. I have attached a copy of this 10 July 2001 CPT
Public Statement to this Communication for your convenience and
consideration.

III.

Third, Germany cannot legally expel or deport Chechen Refugees into the
hands of the Russian Federation because to do so would violate Articles
2, 6, 7, 9, 10 and 17, inter alia, of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights. Germany is a Contracting Party to this
Covenant. The Russian Federation is also a Contracting Party to this
Covenant. Article 2 provides that Germany "undertakes to respect and to
ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its
jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without
distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religious,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status.” Article 6 guarantees these Chechen Refugees their
"inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one
shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Article 7 guarantees that
these Chechen Refugees shall not "be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Article 9 guarantees
these Chechen Refugees their "right to liberty and security of person.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall
be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with
such procedures as are established by law,” etc. Article 10 guarantees
these Chechen Refugees that "All persons deprived of their liberty shall
be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of
the human person.” Article 17 provides that these Chechen Refugees shall
not "be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his
privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his
honour and reputation.” All of these basic human rights of the Chechen
Refugees will be violated, defeated and negated should Germany deport
them into the hands of the Russian Federation.

IV.

Fourth, Germany cannot legally expel or deport these Chechen Refugees
into the hands of the Russian Federation because to do so would violate
Common Article 1 and Common Article 3 of the Four Geneva Conventions of
1949. Germany is a Contracting Party to the Four Geneva Conventions of
1949 The Russian Federation is also a Contracting Party to the Four
Geneva Conventions of 1949. Common Article 3 requires that the Russian
Federation "shall in all circumstances [treat Chechens] humanely,
without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or
faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end,
the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in
any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a)
violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;…

(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and
degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out
of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly
constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are
recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.” Nevertheless, every
major human rights organization in the world, including and especially
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have determined that the
Russian Federation has inflicted grave breaches of Common article 3 upon
the Chechen People. Under Common Article 1 to the Four Geneva
Conventions of 1949, Germany is under an absolute obligation "to respect
and to ensure respect” for the Geneva Conventions "in all
circumstances.” Under these particular circumstances, the only way for
Germany "to respect and to ensure respect” for the Four Geneva
Conventions of 1949 is to prevent the deportation of these Chechen
Refugees into the hands of the Russian Federation.

V.

Fifth, Germany cannot legally return these Chechen Refugees into the
hands of the Russian Federation because to do so would violate Article I
and Article III(e) of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Germany is a Contracting Party to
the Genocide Convention The Russian Federation is also a Contracting
Party to the Genocide Convention. Article 1 requires that Germany take
affirmative steps "to prevent” genocide, which would preclude the return
of these Chechen Refugees to the Russian Federation. Article III(e)
prohibits Germany from engaging in "complicity in genocide.” For Germany
to deport these Chechen Refugees into the hands of the Russian
Federation would aid and abet the ongoing Russian genocide against the
Chechen People as defined and prohibited by Article II of the Genocide
Convention, and thus render Germany an accomplice. As one of the
foremost proponents of human rights in the world today, Germany must
have nothing to do with genocide.

VI.

Sixth, for Germany to deport these Chechen Refugees into the hands of
the Russian Federation would violate its most elementary obligations
under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms. Article 1 thereof requires that Germany "shall
secure to everyone within their jurisdiction the rights and freedoms
defined in Section 1 of this Convention.” These Chechen Refugees are
currently within the jurisdiction of Germany. Their deportation into the
hands of the Russ