HUMAN RIGHTS CASES UNDERWAY.

The European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg has begun examining three cases relating to the conflict in Chechnya. The cases were brought before the court by the human rights organization, Human Rights Watch. In the words of Dieter Lochman of Human Rights Watch, six Chechen civilians, whose relatives perished during Russian bombardments or were executed without a trial after having been seized in Russian mopping up operations, had appealed to Strasbourg. “If these cases are lost,” he noted, “then Russia will have to pay enormous compensation to the victims; the court will decide the sum.” Moreover, if the court in Strasbourg finds that individual articles in the Russian federal law on the struggle with terrorism are not in accord with the European Convention on Human Rights, then Russia will be required to introduce changes into that law, Lochman said (Lenta.ru, March 17).