Murders of people belonging to the ethnic minorities in the Republic and subsequent investigation. An open letter of public opinion representatives of the Republic of Ingushetia

4.2. Murders of people belonging to the ethnic minorities in the Republic and subsequent investigation. An open letter of public opinion representatives of the Republic of Ingushetia

On the night of July 16 in stanitsa Ordzhonikidzevskaya unidentified people shot dead the family of a Russian teacher Lyudmila Terekhina. At about 1 am a group of armed men entered the house at Groznenskya St., 74 "a". They entered the room where the Terekhins were sleeping and asked in Russian: "Where is the money?" - Not waiting for any answer to come they shot Lyudmila, and, after that, her two children, Marina and Vadim, and left the house. The only member of the family left alive was Lyudmila's brother Sergei Artyukhov, disabled since childhood (practically blind).

On September 7 in Nazran near the gate of house № 12 on the Islamskaya street Natalia Mudarova, chief medical officer at the blood transfusion station was shot from a machine gun from the close quarters. She was a Russian with married to a Chechen husband.

Over the period from mid-July until mid-November 24 civilians belonging to ethnic minorities had been killed by unidentified criminals on the territory of Ingushetia. These murders and attacks may be regarded as part of the systematic pressure on the non-Vainakh population of the republic. The victims are often the most respected representatives of the Russian-speaking population. Teachers Draganchuk and Terekhina enjoyed great authority in the Republic. Four generations of the gypsies Lyulyakov family had been living in Ingushetia working at a state farm. The father Lyulyakov, a tractor driver, was well-liked by everybody.. "There is no man in our stanitsa whom he would not have helped to bring something or to plough up a field" the local residents were saying. After the murder of the Lyulyakovs all the Gypsy families left Ingushetia. Prior to their departure they had been living under the protection of local residents.

The Ingush population reacted with extreme indignation to the murder of the Russian-speaking residents. "This is a provocation, someone wants to destabilize the situation," such was the summarized general opinion coming from Antonina Petrovna Hasieva, Deputy Head of the Administration of the Sunzhensky district.

The victims themselves could not explain the reasons for the atrocities committed against them. "We used to live so well, so peacefully, we cannot even tell you how well it was. We had never had trouble with anybody… I worked as a fluorographic nurse in the polyclinic of Karabulak, I know half of the population of the city… We had never locked our house, we were never afraid of anybody. I have only Ingush friends and now live at my neighbors’ home. People keep coming to me, crying, expressing their condolences. One neighbor has brought lime, another whitewashed the room, the shop assistant from the store has been asking me not to leave"- said Tatyana Draganchuk, the daughter of Vera Draganchuk. Now, Vera and Tatiyana Draganchuk left Ingushetia and are staying with their relatives in the Stavropol region.

According to its Prosecutor's Office, there are approximately 2,800 Russian-speaking residents in Ingushetia. Prosecutor Y. N. Turygin believes that these murders have been triggered off by the existing programs of return of the Russian-speaking population into the Republic.

On September 9, 2007 a "Press Release of the Caucasus Front Ingush Sector" was posted on the Kavkaz-Center web-site belonging to the separatist forces, in that press release the "mujahideen" absolutely denied the involvement of his combats in the murders of the Russian residents in Ingushetia and in the explosion at the cemetery during the funeral:

"We make no difference as to the nationality of the people, and if people live in peace, whether they are Russians, Chinese, Koreans or representatives of any other nationality, as long as they are not participating in the fight against the Islam and Muslims, we do not have anything against them."

The authors of the press release accused the security servicemen of committing those crimes.

However, it shall be remembered that earlier, in January-March 2006, a series of attacks on Russian-speaking inhabitants had already occurred in Ingushetia. On May 17, 2006 on the same Kavkaz-Center web resource an interview with "the Ingush mujahideen commander Amir of Magas"¹³ was published, where he, among other things, stated the following:

Although at the time of writing those on whose orders the murders of the republic’s Russian-speaking residents were committed as well as the executors of the crimes had not been identified with any degree of reliability, the above words of one of the leaders of the militants still suggest that the responsibility for these crimes lies with some of the militant groups (probably acting autonomously from each other).

Special attention should be given to the words of the self-proclaimed “Amir of the Caucasian Emirate" Dokku Umarov. While speaking on October 7, 2007 of his definitive switching to aggressive radical fundamentalism, in particular he stated¹⁴:

"I deny all kafir laws that have been established by them in this world. I deny all the laws and systems that are introduced by the infidels in the land of the Caucasus. <…> I am saddened by the position of those Muslims who only declared those kafirs who directly attacked them as enemies. At the same time they are seeking support and sympathy from other kafirs forgetting that all the infidels are one nation ".

On October 30, the Prosecutor of the Republic of Ingushetia Y.N.Turygin said at a meeting with the Human Rights Center Memorial that the investigating authorities had achieved certain results in their inquiry into the killings of the persons belonging to the ethnic minorities: 6 criminal cases had been initiated, a number of individuals involved in these crimes had been identified. According to the prosecutor, they all belonged to one criminal group operating on the territory of Chechnya and Ingushetia. The suspects were declared wanted.

However, the residents of Ingushetia doubt the effectiveness and integrity of the investigation, the ability of the law enforcement officials to put an end to the activities of the criminal groups. On November 7, representatives of the public wrote an open letter to the President, the Parliament and the Public Prosecutor, the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Southern Federal District and the President of Russia. In that letter, they asked the above-mentioned officials to create a commission in charge of monitoring the inquiry into the murders of the Russian-speaking inhabitants in Ingushetia. Among the signatories (81 people) were representatives of public organizations, political parties, journalists, academicians, lawyers, prominent public figures in the republic. Their appeal, in particular, says:

"This series of murders, including the murders of representatives of ethnic minorities came as a great shock to us… Whoever was behind those crimes, they were aimed at undermining the foundations of the Ingush society and identity, at discrediting the Ingush people and destabilizing the situation in the region. These killings are not only cruel but also difficult to explain - those who perpetrated them cannot expect to encounter anything other than revulsion and outrage on the part of the Ingush people.

We believe that impartial investigation of these crimes is regarded a matter of honor by the people of Ingushetia. We want to know who is behind these provocations in our republic, who are they that are trying to provoke destabilization of the situation, what their political goals are that compel them to commit such brutal and senseless killing of innocent people. The criminals must be punished under the law, whoever they may have been, and the truth about the atrocities committed by them will put an end to the speculation and rumors stirring indignation and trouble in the republic.

At the same time it is absolutely unacceptable that these notorious crimes will be «fastened» on the spur of the moment on any random people. No one has the right to shoot residents of Ingushetia who might appear somehow suspicious to them, to torture and to apply illegal methods of investigation to the detaineesd. Otherwise, innocent people will suffer, and these killers will remain at large and continue with their criminal activities further destabilizing the so far complicated situation in the Republic. Regarding the urgent importance of this question we ask you to create a public commission in charge of monitoring the course of investigation of these killings. Every one of us is ready to take part in and contribute to its work. "

Talking about shooting and tortures, the authors of the letter were referring to quite specific examples of lawlessness committed by officers of the FSB, the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor's Office against residents of Ingushetia.