12 April 2004, 13:57
Bodies of lynched people found in Chechnya
9 dead bodies of young men were found by locals in the Shali district of Chechnya of April 9. "The dead bodies with signs of torture and numerous gunshot wounds were found in a derelict ravine in the vicinity of the village of Serzhen-Yurt. 8 of them have already been identified. They are residents of the village of Duba-Yurt in the Shali district who were taken from their village by gunmen in masks and military uniform on 27 March 2004," an officer of the Chechen Interior Ministry said to the Caucasian Knot correspondent.
Meanwhile, residents of Duba-Yurt are convinced their killed fellow-villages were taken away by officers of Russian security structures. "The military conducted a so called purge in our village on March 27. During it, they took away 8 people. We have been searching for them for all this time, but without any results. We have no doubt that all of these young men fell victims to extrajudicial execution by a Russian special unit - a "killing squad" as they are often called," Musa, a 48-year-old resident of Duba-Yurt said.
Editors note: See also the article "Purges in Duba-Yurt village".
Author: Sultan Abubakarov, CK correspondent Source: Caucasian Knot
