SUPREME COURT SET TO CONSIDER “TERRORISM” CASE

SUPREME COURT SET TO CONSIDER “TERRORISM” CASE

The Supreme Court of Russia is about to consider the case of Islam Khasukhanov. He was convicted of “terrorism” earlier this year by the Supreme Court of North Ossetia merely for having held an administrative position in the Maskhadov government (see Chechnya Weekly, April 10). Anna Politkovskaya of Novaya gazeta reported on August 4 that Khasukhanov is in extremely poor health after being tortured by the FSB. The ordeal broke his ribs and fractured his skull; bone fragments still remain in his kidney.

According to the records of the case examined by Politkovskaya, the FSB wrote to all its district offices in Chechnya requesting information about terrorist acts committed by military units. Not one of the local offices was able to provide such information, but the court in North Ossetia ignored that fact–and also the physical evidence, such as his skull wound, that indicated Khasukhanov had been tortured. Khasukhanov has been told that he is not eligible for amnesty. He predicted that as long as Russia’s current policies in Chechnya continue, there will be many cases like his.