- Ingushetia: Abduction of Magomed Garbakov

On May 13, 2010, at about 9 a.m. in Sagopshi village of Malgobekskiy district of the Republic of Ingushetia a local resident Magomed Garbakov, DOB 1970, residing at Mergoyeva street, 52, was abducted by officers of unidentified law enforcement authorities.

According to his wife, Hava Malsagova, the unknown in civilian clothes came to their house on a black Lada-priora car with toned windows. They spoke Chechen. They said that they came to learn about the conditions of the sale of the house. That was the third visit of these people. Magomed walked out in the street and started to talk to them. In ten minutes Hava heard a sound of the car driving away. The husband was not in the street, while the car was driving fast heading for the road leading to Highway Patrol post on malgobekskiy circle. According to the neighbor, who witnessed the abduction, the unknown grabbed Magomed, pushed him in a white minibus Gazel (it was standing next to Garbakov’s house) and left, accompanied by a few more cars.

Hava Malsagova locked the house and went to her relatives to tell them about the event. In 40 minutes the law enforcement authorities officers drove to the Garbakovs’ house on a few cars, accompanied by the armor. There were a lot of them. They blocked the street and knocked out the Garbakovs’ gate with an armored vehicle. The house was searched, during which the furniture was damaged, the windows and doors were knocked out and the house was partly ruined. The documents and belongings were stolen: the documents for the house and two cars’ ownership, family photos, about seven thousand USD, jewelery, two TV-sets, a DVD-player, a music player, a washer, two phones, a sewing machine, two heaters, the husband’s clothes and shoes, an exercise bicycle, a microwave, an electric kettle, a blander, and many more.

Garbakov’s relatives turned to the Prosecutor’s General Office and OVD of Malgobekskiy district on the abduction of Magomed. There was no information on that event in the law machinery of the district. The district policeman visited the place of Garbakov’s residence, questioned his wife and neighbors. As of May 31, the whereabouts of the abducted haven’t been determined.

On May 31, Hava Malsagova applied to HRC Memorial with a written statement and to some other human rights organizations. She asks for help in finding her husband and protecting his rights. According to Malsagova, Magomed Garbakov has never been involved in anything criminal, has not been wanted, and was working as a builder. There are four underage kids in the family.

- North Ossetia: Two Residents of Ingushetia Apprehended

On 28 May 2010, two men, Anzor Chaniev, 26, and his cousin Idris Yandiev, 21, have been apprehended by police agents in the city of Vladikavkaz in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania.

On 31 May, the sister of Anzor, Lida Chanieva, directed a written appeal to Human Rights Center Memorial as well as other human rights organizations. She writes that on May 28, Chaniev and Yandiev left for Vladikavkaz in order to purchase camouflaged military uniforms. Anzor is a contracted worker for the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Domestic Affairs in the Ingushetian city of Nazran and wanted to obtain a new uniform in Vladivkavkaz for a lower price.

In the afternoon, Chaniev and Yandiev were stopped by police agents checking for their documentation on Kirov street. After the young men presented their passports, the policemen grabbed them, placed black bags on their heads, and began to beat them about the eyes in front of numerous witnesses. Yandiev and Chaniev were then taken to the local police station and asked a few witnesses to accompany them. The young men were beaten once again in the station. After a short while, Yandiev and Chaniev were transferred to the building of the investigative unit of North Ossetia-Alania prosecutor’s office, located at Pushkinskaya street. Lida Chanieva claims that both her brother and Idris Yandiev were beaten and tortured during their interrogation.

On the night of May 29, around three o’clock a.m., the on-duty detective called the mother of Anzor Chaniev and informed her that Chaniev and Yandiev had been apprehended on the suspicion of committing a crime of which he did not specify. On the same day, the arrested men were moved investigative solitary confinement cell at Kosta avenue. According to preliminary information Chaniev and Yandiev are accused of the illegal possession of weapons. The relatives have not been given any further details. They have not yet succeeded in hiring a lawyer. Some lawyers have declined to take up the case while others are demanding too high of fees.

In her appeal, Lida Chaniev asks for help in defending the rights of Anzor Chaniev and Idris Yandiev, as well as protecting them against torture and beatings. She also asks that those who guilty of abusing their power be brought to the attention of the appropriate authorities.

For further information: Memorial