Relatives of suspects killed in Kabardino-Balkaria refuse to cooperate with HRC “Memorial”

The Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”* stopped working on the complaints filed by relatives of the suspects killed in the counterterrorist operation (CTO) in Kabardino-Balkaria, as they stopped cooperating with the human rights defenders. The complainants might refuse any attempts to reveal the real reasons for the deaths of their relatives because of pressure on families, the HRC reports.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 3, law enforcers carried out a special operation in Nalchik and Baksan, in which five suspected militants were declared killed. Journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova reported that one of the killed was identified as Khasanbi Khupsergenov, convicted in a case on the attack on Nalchik in 2005. According to the journalist’s information, all five killed suspects, including Khasanbi Khupsergenov, Anzor Barazov, Arsen Mendokhov, Mamaz Chikhradze, and Khasan Shogenov, were kidnapped, and the special operation was staged.

In November 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) communicated 20 complaints from the men convicted in the case on the attack on Nalchik, including Khasanbi Khupsergenov. The convicts complained about torture, unfair trial, and violation of their right to liberty and security.

After the special operation in Kabardino-Balkaria, the relatives of the two victims – Akhmed Khupsergenov, a brother of 37-year-old Khasanbi Khupsergenov, and Elmira Legidova, a wife of 35-year-old Anzor Barazov, – appealed to the HRC “Memorial”*. The complainants denied the involvement of their relatives in illegal armed formations (IAFs) and claimed that the men were kidnapped on the eve of the special operation. Besides, the relatives stated that they found signs of torture on the suspects’ dead bodies.

The relatives associated the death of Khasanbi Khupsergenov with the fact that he did not succumb to pressure and refused to withdraw his complaint filed to the ECtHR about torture and unfair trial in the case on the attack on Nalchik. Elmira Legidova announced her intention to file to the Investigating Department for Kabardino-Balkaria a complaint that her husband had been kidnapped, tortured, and killed. However, the woman did not file any complaint. Starting from October, Akhmed Khupsergenov has almost ceased his contacts with the human rights defenders.

*The organization has been put on the register of foreign agents by the Russian Ministry of Justice.