30 October 2006, 22:31
Chechnya has over 173,000 victims of political repressions
Chechnya officially counts over 173,000 victims of political repressions of 1940s and 1950s. Ahmed Dakaev, deputy minister of internal affairs of the Chechen Republic (ChR), made this fact public at the meeting with Alu Alkhanov, ChR president.
All of them have been issued respective certificates, the ITAR-TASS correspondent was informed by the press service of the Chechen president. At the same time, over 17,000 applicants were refused granting confirming documents.
Minkail Gagaev, advocate and human rights activist, declared at the meeting that the offices in the regions, in charge of issuance of certificates, confirming that this or that citizen of the Republic was an object of repressions, are working unsatisfactorily. Mr. Gagaev drew the attention of the meeting to the fact that Dagestan, Ingushetia, Karachayevo-Cherkessia and Kalmykia have adopted a simplified procedure of granting confirming documents.
October 30 was declared to be the Memory Day of victims of political repressions in 1991 on the Decision of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) Supreme Soviet. Thereafter, on the initiative of the "Memorial" Society, a boulder was brought to Moscow from the Solovki Special Corrective Camp and placed in the Lubyanka Square to commemorate GULAG (Chief Administration of Corrective Camps) victims, Radio Liberty writes.
