1. Dagestan "Center for Protection of Human Rights" - first year of activities.
The Dagestan NGO - "Center for the Protection of Human Rights" was registered by the Republican Ministry of Justice on March 16, 1998.
This NGO was organized by a group of teachers of law - professors at the Department of Law of the Dagestan State University.
The goal of the Center is to help the development of democratic institutions in Dagestan, offer free legal assistance to citizens, raise awareness of their rights and responsibilities.
In the first year of its activities the Center focused on organizing practical activities of students of the Law Department of the Dagestan State University. Today senior students of the Law Department are involved in offering free legal consulting to citizens, helping in formulating documents that are necessary for court cases, assisting people in getting through to governmental officials on various levels, in contacting bailiffs and ensuring the implementation of court decisions.
The Center is often involved in helping people restore their violated rights. For example, the Center recently assisted a group of women who were fired during the time when they were on their "pregnancy leaf of absence". Unfortunately similar problems are quite common today in Dagestan. Currently, the Center is planning to put more emphasis on increasing legal awareness of the general population. For this purpose the Center is developing plans to create a newspaper focused on legal issues.
So far the activities of the Center have been carried out on a volunteer basis.
Address: Markova street 40, Mahachkala Republic of Dagestan, 367000
Phone: (8722) 67-18-13
Members of the Center: Mamedova Maya (manager); Nimatellaeva Ravzanat; Hastinov Eldar; Alieva Djamilya; Hasbulatova Djamilya
2. Foster home "Family" in Chehcnya.
This is an initiative of a Chechen women, Hadijat Gataeva, who in 1996 began to gather children that lost their parents during the war. She collected such children, brought them to her home, and provided them with food. Soon the news of this spread, and homeless children began gathering around Hadijat.
Since her capabilities to assist homeless children were limited, Hadijat wrote to various international humanitarian agencies, and soon began receiving aid from the local "Red Cross".
By now Hadijat has assisted 98 children, a number of them were able to find their parents. Currently there are 27 children in her house, ages from 9 to 18. The government provided Hadijat with a house while the local society of the Red Cross assists her with food.
Besides providing the children with shelter and food, Hadijat is trying to organize their education. Currently she is in a difficult situation. Due to the general state of affairs in Chechnya, she finds it difficult to contact humanitarian organizations.
Address: Krasnyh Frontovikov street, 5, Grozny, Chechnya
Contact: Gataeva Hadijat
3. Ingush human rights activist persecuted.
Leila Tsoroeva, head of the Committee of Ingush Women "Almos" and an active member of the Council of Social Organizations of Ingushetia was going to participate in the elections to the local Parliament on behalf of this Council. On January 9, 1999 she forwarded her documents to the Electoral Committee to be registered as a candidate in the upcoming elections. The next day the local police (MVD) had registered her as a provider of narcotic substances.
On January 30, 1999 Leila Tsoroeva was registered as a candidate for the Parliament of the Ingush Republic.
On February 2 she was arrested by the police and put in the local jail. This happened after drugs were supposedly found in the bag that she herself (!) took to the police when she was called in as a witness.
On February 5 Leila Tsoroeva was released on bail and the next day, February 6, the Electoral Committee made a decision to exclude her candidacy from the ballots.
On February 20 Leila Tsoroeva was arrested a second time and was kept in the local jail till March 18. February 27, the day before the elections, the local court made a ruling in support of the decision of the Electoral Committee to exclude Ms. Tsoroeva from participating in the elections. This happened in her absence, while she was held in the local jail, despite her demands to be present on the court hearings.
On March 18, 1999 the local court found Leila Tsoroeva guilty in possessing and keeping narcotics in large quantities without intending to distribute them, and gave her a "provisional" sentence of 1.5 years. (This means that while she is left free, she may be arrested and sent to jail for any minor felony, thus keeping her under constant pressure of the local police).
Elections to the local Parliament took place on February 28, 1999. There is not a single woman out of 21 elected deputies.
Address: Altievo, Tsoroeva street 1, Nazran, Ingushetia, Russian Federation, 366720
Phone: (87322) 2-42-02; 2-36-76
Tsoroeva Leila Muratovna
