Russian forces in Chechnya act with "total impunity" due to a lack of will by the authorities to crack down on war crimes, senior monitors from the Council of Europe charged on Thursday.
Russian officials were "not willing to investigate the mass killings and the crimes" committed by the security forces, said Rudolf Bindig, the German co-leader of a delegation that returned from a two-day trip to Chechnya on Wednesday.
"There's still total impunity in Chechnya," he told AFP.
Bindig and his colleague Lord Frank Judd of Britain will present a report to the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly (PACE) ahead of a key debate at the Strabourg-based forum next week.
PACE is set to debate whether to reinstate Russia's voting rights at the 41-nation assembly during its January 22-26 winter session.
Last April, Russia became the first Council of Europe member to have its voting rights suspended following a slew of reports charging human rights abuses by federal troops serving in Chechnya.
Judd said on Thursday he had noted some improvements in the legal system in the strife-torn republic, in particular the creation of 10 regional courts presided by Chechen judges.
But he said there was "still a significant gap" between the number of alleged violations referred to Vladimir Kalamanov, the Kremlin's human rights envoy to the region, and the number of cases sent by Kalamanov to the courts.
The monitors regretted that no Russian troops had been prosecuted for three massacres of civilians in and around the Chechen capital Grozny a year ago despite eye-witness reports that federal soldiers had been responsible.
Judd also called on Russian authorities to organize elections in Chechnya, which he said should be conducted without interference from Moscow or else they would be "completely counter-productive."
The holding of elections was an essential step towards rebuilding security and stability in Chechnya, he noted.
The delegation was due to leave Moscow later Thursday -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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