MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax-AVN) - Twenty terrorists involved in the assassination of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov were killed during a special operation conducted by federal forces in Chechnya, the republic's prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko said in an interview published in Tuesday's issue of the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper.
"The recent special operation in Vedeno was code-named 'Revenge,' which is not accidental, since over 20 militants killed there were involved in Kadyrov's assassination," the prosecutor said.
He denied media reports alleging massive human rights abuses by federal forces in Chechnya.
"I read and check all scandalous publications and cannot say that they can be confirmed. True, some violations on the part of federal forces have, indeed, taken place, but they are nothing like the ones the Americans committed in the Abu Greib prison in Iraq, definitely not," Kravchenko said.
Also, he refuted allegations of the disproportionate use of force in Chechnya. "The case in point is not ordinary criminals, but organized, well-armed and well-trained gangs. It's not a 'black cat' that we have been hunting in Chechnya, but people armed with automatic rifles, grenade launchers, anti-aircraft units and suicide belts. Often, they prefer to blow themselves up so as not to be taken prisoner. But even in these conditions, federal forces manage to capture and bring whole groups of bandits to justice," the prosecutor said.
Furthermore, he said that sometimes a check on a missing person in Chechnya shows that he has joined the militants.
"Of course, it's hard for relatives to admit that their son sided with the bandits. Sometimes, during the post-mortem identification of those who were earlier reported missing, relatives even say that federal soldiers put a grenade in his hand and blew him up," Kravchenko said.
He noted that instances where bandits wearing military uniforms of federal troops or Chechen law enforcement bodies kidnapped residents of Chechnya were not infrequent.
Since February 2000, 45 criminal cases have been brought against Chechen law enforcement officials charged with various crimes. "All of them have been convicted," the prosecutor said.