Human rights defenders: Chechen student was killed by militiamen in Stavropol

On June 1, 2007, the All-Russian Public Movement "For Human Rights" received materials evidencing that Stavropol student Gelani Ruslanovich Ataev had not perished during a mass fight in Stavropol on May 24 in the Yunost Avenue, but he was beaten to death by employees of law enforcement bodies who had first handcuffed him. This is confirmed also by photographs, where one can see symmetric traces of handcuffs on both wrists and frightening haematomas from blows inflicted by "blunt objects."

According to the victim's relatives, the fight was provoked. The absence of interethnic motives of the fight is confirmed by the fact that about two dozens of ethnic Russians participated on the "Vainakh" part of the collision. The version that a conflict between non-resident students and local youth was the cause of the fight looks more probable.

Student Zaurbek Ahmadov who tried to prevent Ataev's beating, when the latter was dragged by militiamen into their UAZ patrol van, was shot both his legs through by militiamen's guns. Now, Ahmadov and other students - eyewitnesses of the tragedy that happened on May 24 - are either already detained or under a threat of detention. Information exists that the precondition of the stop of students' prosecution is their refusal from the evidences that militiamen were guilty of Gelani Ataev's death.

Ibrahim Gunoev, the casualty's uncle, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent: "When I learnt about the murder of two Stavropol students on Sunday, I understood that an interethnic conflict is in the offing. It cannot be a blood feud as all the participants of the fight know that he was killed by militiamen, not by students."