(Moscow, February 7) - Press conference of Julij Rybakov, MP ("Russia's Choice") who works in Chechnya already almost two months as member of Russian parliamentarians' group guided by Sergej Kovalev, took place today in State Duma. Press conference was dedicated to the war crimes, committing in Chechnya by Russian armed forces, as well as to the fate of civilian population suffering from war more than anybody else.
"There are still tens of thousands of civilians in warfare zone. They perish under fire, from hunger, cold and illness. - Mr. Rybakov told - Russian troops behave terribly against civilians - first of all it concerns OMON (special police forces - N.Kh.) and interior troops".
What is happening now in Chechnya, without exaggeration could be compared with Nazi crimes during the World War II and Serbian crimes in ex-Yugoslavia. Robberies, beatings, tortures, killings, rapes are everyday practice in areas occupied by federal troops.
Julij Rybakov gave some concrete examples. In particular, in Assinovskaja village (which declared, apropos, about its neutrality) OMON soldiers, arriving to the homes of villagers by armored vehicles, drove out inhabitants under threat of death and begun to load into the vehicles all more or less valuable property. The special danger exists for women. A Russian girl 14 years old was grabbed by them and thrown into the armored car. The mother who attempted to protest, was killed right there by pistol shot into her chin.
Kovalev's group engaged a number of social scientists in interrogation refugees from Grozny in Nazran. On base of this interrogation, which involved about 400 persons, the list of civilian victims' names was composed. In this list are about 25,000 of people, perished during the last two months only in Grozny. Among them: 18,000 were killed by direct artillery fire and air bombings, 1,900 by non-aimed rifle fire, 1,450 by aimed fire (including sharpshooters' fire), 450 died from different deceases, 650 perished in fighting (it is matter of so called "Red Indians" - civilians acting against Russian troops autonomously, on their own risk). Among the above mentioned total number of victims 4,650 are women in age from 15 and older.
Losses among the Chechen government troops, OMON and militiamen were estimated by Mr. Rybakov as about 4,000 of persons, while the Chechen armed forces and militia are 15,000 in total number. Not all of them fight at the same time, there is a sort of rotation provided (two days of combats alternate with two days of rest in a village).
What concerns the losses in federal troops, it is difficult to estimate, since the Russian command hides the real data about losses. It is known, that hundreds of perished Russian soldiers were secretly buried in common graves without distinctive signs, or even simply dropped from helicopters in forests or mountain gorges.
Stopping on the problem of POW exchange, Julij Rybakov stressed, that Russian party proposes to exchange almost exclusively civilians, captured not only in the warfare zone, but also in neighboring Ingushetia and even in Stavropolskij region (Pjatigorsk). "Captured Chechen soldiers and militiamen do not reach prisons and screening camps. They are tortured and annihilated yet on the way: shoot or simply lively dropped from helicopters," - Mr. Rybakov said.
Determining what happens in Chechnya as mass war crimes and crimes against humanity, Julij Rybakov informed about intention of MPs - members of Kovalev's group - to gain the appreciation of the described events by Constitutional Court. Afterwards they are ready to open question about international prosecution of persons guilty in war crimes committed in Chechnya. However they do not believe very much in soon and effective result.
