[02/03/07 11:00] Commissioner Hammarberg has concluded a week-long visit to the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, through which he sought to raise awareness about Council of Europe human rights standards. In Grozny, the Commissioner visited a security force base under the Chechen Ministry of Interior, a prison, a police station, the Centre for Forensic Medicin and the central hospital. He also gave a lecture at the University of Grozny.
During the visit, Mr Hammarberg met with acting President Ramzan Kadyrov, general prosecutor Valery Kuznetsov and other officials. The Commissioner also held discussions with local NGOs and travelled to the war-torn district Vedeno. He also travelled to Beslan, North Ossetia to visit the destroyed school and the memorial that was erected in memory of the Beslan tragedy.
Following the visit, the Commissioner was in Moscow to discuss the situation in the North Caucasus with Yuri Chaika, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, and Alexandre Yakovenko, the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Commissioner was accompanied by a group of ten international journalists on this visit, and gave a press conference on March 2 at Interfax.
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See also
Press release : Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the Chechen republic (23/02/07)