Lawyer with 'peace through justice' philosophy

We call your attention to the statement by the Yalta Initiative for Peace in Chechnya on the death of lawyer Abdulla Khamzayev:

Abdulla Khamzayev, the well-known Chechen lawyer and public figure, died in the 55th City Hospital in Moscow on the night of June 12-13, at about 4 a.m. He was 67. Abdulla Khamzayev was a remarkable lawyer and peacemaker. He did a lot for his long-suffering people. He represented the family of Elza Kungayeva in the Colonel Budanov case. This trial ended with the verdict of guilty due to his great efforts indeed. He brought dozens of cases to the European Court in Strasbourg, including the case on the bombardment of Urus-Martan by "unidentified flying objects" in 1999. Abdulla Khamzayev seriously suffered from diabetes recently. He survived an apparent death during the trial against Budanov.

His peacemaking philosophy can be described as "peace through justice". Abdulla Khamzayev believed there could be no stable peace without justice. An evil not punished legally and morally gives rise to a new evil. An unpunished genocide carries the germ of a new genocide. Khamzayev also showed the way how one could fight for his/her rights by peaceful, nonviolent and legal means. On March 10, Abdulla Khamzayev received the Peace Prize instituted by the Coalition of Chechen and Russian NGOs "Yalta Initiative for Peace in Chechnya". Members of the Coalition always highly rated his contribution to the cause of fight for the cessation of war in Chechnya and human rights protection.

We present our condolences to relatives and close friends of the deceased.

Coalition of Chechen and Russian NGOs "Yalta Initiative for Peace in Chechnya"

Editors note: See also the article "Well-known lawyer buried in Chechnya".