03 October 2007, 22:26
The European Court will rule in two cases concerning civilian killings in Staropromyslovski district of Grozny
On 4 October 2007, the European Court of Human Rights will rule in two cases concerning attacks on civilians in Grozny, the Chechen capital, by Russian Federal forces, in January 2000. The applicants allege they were shot by Russian servicemen. They are represented before the Court by the London-based European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC) and the Russian NGO, Memorial.
On 19 January 2000, Yelena Goncharuk was wounded in the leg whilst running to shelter from shelling. Military servicemen then threw tear-gas grenades into the cellar where she and others had found shelter, saying they had orders to kill everyone. On leaving the cellar she was shot and lost consciousness. Those sheltering with her were all shot dead. She escaped the following day to Ingushetia, where she was hospitalised and treated for gunshot and shrapnel wounds to the knee joints and chest and concussion.
On 22 January 2000, Kheyedi Makhauri (a mother of five) and two other women went to inspect their houses in Grozny following the military bombardment. The women saw 30 - 40 soldiers looting a neighbour's house. Before they could escape, the soldiers ordered them to approach, threatening them with automatic weapons. They were blindfolded and made to start walking. After a short time the applicant removed her blindfold and saw a soldier pointing an automatic rifle at her. She begged for mercy. The soldiers shot all three women. The applicant pretended to be dead and later crawled to a bomb shelter where she was given first aid. She spent two months in hospital and is now paralysed in her left hand.
Both women claim violations of Articles 2 (right to life), 3 (inhuman treatment) and 13 (right to an effective remedy) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Their cases were declared admissible on 18 May 2006.
The events of this period are also the subject of a Human Rights Watch Report: Civilian Killings in Staropromyslovski District of Grozny: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/russia_chechnya/.
