Communications received

315. By letter dated 27 July 2001, the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent

on 5 June 2001 concerning the case of Dik Alterimov. The Government assured the Special Representative that the Office of the Procurator General of the Russian Federation, the Office of the Procurator of the Chechen Republic and the Grozny City Procurator had checked the claims made in the communication regarding the allegedly unlawful detention and disappearance of Mr. D. Altemirov. The Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. Altemirov was indeed arrested in Grozny on 24 May 2001 on suspicion of involvement with an illegal armed formation (pursuant to the Federal Anti-Terrorism Act of 25 July 1998). He was released upon completion of relevant checks and was never subjected to any kind of physical violence or psychological pressure. He had no complaints about his conditions of detention and had made a written statement to that effect. Mr. Altemirov was currently living at home in Grozny.

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316. By letter dated 26 September 2001, the Government responded to the allegation transmitted on 10 August 2001 regarding Mr. Grigoryants, the head of the Glasnost Foundation. The Government informed the Special Representative that it had provisionally been established that the Meshchansky District Internal Affairs Department of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Moscow Central Administrative District had received a collective communication from residents of Building 5, 22 Tsvetnoy Bulvar, Moscow, concerning the illegal use as offices of three rooms in communal apartment No. 40 in the same building. The said apartment, which comprises four rooms, is municipally owned. Mr. M.I. Arshinov was registered as living in one of the rooms; the others are unoccupied. In the course of an inspection on 27 July 2000, it was discovered that the sealed rooms had been opened and were illegally being used as offices by the Glasnost Foundation. On 28 August 2000, following a meeting of the heads of the Sretenka District Operating Board, Internal Affairs Department officers inspected without violence apartment No. 40 and checked the identity papers of the people whom they found there. It was discovered that Mr. S.I. Grigoryants had without permission installed office equipment, copying machines, telephones and faxes in the three unoccupied rooms. The Government informed the Special Representative that Mr. S.I. Grigoryants had already submitted a similar complaint under the 1503 procedure.

317. By letter dated 7 December 2001 the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 30 October 2001 regarding Ms. Anna Politkovskaia. The Government informed the Special Representative that on 11 and 15 October 2001 anonymous threats addressed to Ms. Politkovskaya were indeed e-mailed to the editorial office of the weekly newspaper Novaya gazeta. The Moscow Central Department of Internal Affairs had taken steps to identify the authors of the threats and to document any subsequent threats e-mailed to the editorial office of Novaya gazeta. The Government stated that verification of the information was being supervised by the Central Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and would be completed when Ms. Politkovskaya returned from abroad. The Government specified that Ms. Politkovskaya herself had not notified the procuratorial agencies, the Federal Ministry of Internal Affairs or its local branches of any threats. The Government added that the allegation that she had been forced to seek political asylum outside the Russian Federation had not been corroborated by the editorial office. The Government assured the Special Representative that no one had prevented Ms. Politkovskaya from publishing articles on the situation in the Chechen Republic, even though the facts presented in her articles had not been objectively corroborated when checked.

318. By letter dated 20 December 2001 the Government responded to the urgent appeal sent on 12 November 2001 regarding Mr. Imran Elsheyev. The Government informed the Special Representative that an investigation had been undertaken and nothing was found to support the allegation that Mr. Ezheev was detained or arrested by units of the Russian Federal Security

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Service, local security agencies, military security units or staff operating in the territory of the Republic of Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic. The Government added that the investigation had established that Mr. Ezheev was detained on 13 October 2001 by internal affairs officers in the village of Yandar in the Republic of Ingushetia of the Russian Federation. He was detained pursuant to a request from the Aktobe Oblast Internal Affairs Authority in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Government affirmed that information was received on 9 November 2001 from the Aktobe Oblast Internal Affairs Authority in Kazakhstan indicating that the offence committed by Mr. Ezheev was subject to an amnesty to mark the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Whereupon, pursuant to a decision of the Acting Procurator of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, Mr. Ezheev was released from custody. Nothing was found to support the allegations made in the inquiry that Mr. Ezheev was arrested on account of human rights activities.

Observations

319. The Special Representative thanks the Government for its replies. She was informed that on 20 November 2001, Mr. Imran Elsheyev (urgent appeal dated 12 November 2001) was released by the Prosecutor General of the Chechen Republic, Mr. V. Chernov, who offered an official apology for this illegal detention. The Special Representative remains concerned about the situation of Ms. Anna Politkovskaia and wishes to be kept informed of further developments.

RWANDA

Communication envoyee

320. Le 4 mai 2001, la Representante special e a envoye un appel urgent concernant Theobald Rwaka, ancien Ministre de l'interieur et fondateur de l'organisation

non gouvernementale LIPRODHOR, qui serait porte disparu depuis le vendredi 27 avril 2001. Il aurait quitte son domicile a Kigali vers 18 heures a bord d'un vehicule non identifie a la suite d'un appel telephonique. Depuis, sa famille et ses collegues seraient sans nouvelles de lui. Selon les informations recues, Theobald Rwaka aurait ete demis de ses fonctions de Ministre de l'interieur le 16 mars 2001, apres avoir ete accuse de communiquer des informations aux organisations non gouvernementales de defense des droits de l'homme. Des craintes ont ete exprimees quant au fait que sa disparition soit Нее a son engagement en faveur des droits de l'homme.

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Observations

321. La Representante special e regrette qu'aucune reponse du Gouvernement ne lui soit parvenue.

SINGAPORE

322. In a communication dated 25 July 2001, the Special Representative requested the Government to extend an invitation to her to carry out an official visit to Singapore. No reply has been received so far.