Moscow, February 9, 1995

Dear Mr. Simonov:

On February 8 your newspaper published on the front page an article by Vladimir Velengurin, entitled "First Form Schoolboy Misha Yepifantsev Will Not Go To School..." and describing the story of Misha Epifantsev, an 8-years old inhabitant of Grozny city, who experienced amputation of both legs after being wounded by Russian air bomb.

I was in district hospital of Urus Martan on January 18, I saw Misha, I spoke with his mother and doctors. Together with me there was my companion Antonio Stango, chairman of Italian Helsinki Committee and member of Radical Party secretariat. We were in Chechnya from 13 to 19 of January as a mission of Transnational Radical Party, turning to the conflict zone in order to observe immediately the events happening there and to establish direct contact with Russian parliamentarians - members of so called "Kovalev's group".

Doctors in Urus Martan asked us to find sponsors in Italy (where our central office is located) for Misha's treatment and making prosthetic appliance. We managed to achieve some results.

On January 28, Regional Council of Abruzzo unanimously passed a special motion, "adopting" Misha and inviting him and his mother to Italy, attributing all the expenses to the regional budget. Italian foreign minister Susanna Agnelli issued a special ordinance, prescribing to grant entering visas for Misha and his mother just in point of crossing Italian border. Aliadriatica air company granted a special flight, ready to leave for any nearest to Grozny acting civilian airport in order to pick up Epifantsevs family.

The only and most dramatic problem which we faced now, is absolute impossibility to establish current location of Misha Epifantsev. All our attempts to connect with Urus Martan by phone were failed: telephone does not work in Chechnya. Red Crescent Society of Republic of Ingushetia in Nazran also does not have connection with hospital in Urus Martan: there is fighting on the Rostov - Baku highway and Red Cross convoys do not go there already more than a week.

Mr. Simonov, I urgently request you: if you, your paper, author of the article Mr. Velengurin know something about Misha'a fate and his current location, please, let us know. You can get in touch with us by phone 095-9239127 (also fax). My home phone number is 095-1176895.

I hope for your kind interest.

Sincerely,

Nikolaj Khramov

member of General Council

of Radical Party