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I. Executive summary

The brutality of the four-year armed conflict in Chechnya has started spilling across the border to the neighboring republic of Ingushetia.¹

In the summer of 2003, Russian forces based in Chechnya and the forces of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration conducted a series of operations in Ingushetia, in which they replicated many of the same abuses as those they committed during operations in Chechnya.

Alerted to these developments, Human Rights Watch conducted a research mission to Ingushetia from July 5 to 11, 2003. Through interviews with more than forty victims, witnesses, and government officials, we documentedthe abuses committed by federal and local military, security, and police forces on the territory of Ingushetia in June and early July 2003.

Until recently, Ingushetia remained a relatively safe refuge for tens of thousands internally displaced persons who had fled the fighting in Chechnya. In 2002, claiming the situation in Chechnya had “normalized,” Russian authorities started pressuring internally displaced persons living in Ingushetia to return home. Federal and local migration officials employed various methods to pressure displaced persons to go back—they threatened displaced Chechens with the imminent closure of tent camps in the middle of winter; removed hundreds of people from the camp registration lists effectively denying them aid and causing them to be evicted. Additionally, they blocked the construction of alternative shelters in Ingushetia.

In addition, officials threatened the displaced people with arrests on false charges such as drugs and weapons possession, and impending sweeps in Ingushetia. These threats were realized in the summer of 2003, when Russian authorities finally resorted to what many displaced persons believe to be the most effective means of forcing them back to Chechnya—making Ingushetia an equally perilous place.

In June 2003, Russian and pro-Moscow Chechen forces conducted at least five security operations in settlements for Chechen displaced persons in Ingushetia and two in Ingush villages close to the border with Chechnya. The operations involved numerous cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, ill-treatment, and looting. In addition, Russian forces appeared to be responsible for killing one Ingush civilian and seriously wounding another. In a separate incident, a Russian soldier shot and wounded a sixteen-year-old boy. Similar to the governmental response to abuses committed in Chechnya, authorities failed to diligently investigate the violations and hold perpetrators accountable.

The deteriorating security situation in Ingushetia has marked a new stage in the campaign to compel internally displaced people to return to Chechnya. It has been coupled with new official commitments by the federal government to compensate returning Chechens for their destroyed homes and a new deadline for the closure of tent camps in Ingushetia. Federal and pro-Moscow Chechen authorities have said that the displaced should be back in Chechnya by the beginning of October, when that republic’s presidential elections are scheduled to take place.

This particular combination of threats and incentives has proved to be more effective than previous efforts—reportedly, hundreds of people have returned to Chechnya in recent months.

Meanwhile, the situation in Chechnya remains precarious for civilians. Both Russian forces and Chechen rebels continue to commit serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Against the backdrop of the forthcoming presidential elections in Chechnya, violence there has escalated, with daily large-scale clashes resulting in numerous deaths on both sides, and continued abuses against civilians.

By harassing the internally displaced through abusive raids in Ingushetia and pressuring them to return to the conflict zone, Russia is violating international standards for the protection of civilians, including those reflected in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.

Human Rights Watch calls on the Russian government to immediately halt abusive operations in Ingushetia, fully investigate all allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations, and bring to justice perpetrators of serious violations. The government should cease pressuring internally displaced persons to return to Chechnya and ensure that they continue to enjoy protection and humanitarian assistance in accordance with international law. In addition the government should extend internally displaced persons’ status to those who wish to leave the conflict zone. Human Rights Watch also urges the relevant international agencies involved in the region to protest any actions that may endanger the lives and well-being of thousands of internally displaced people residing in Ingushetia.