Front Line is alarmed by reports it has received from the Kazan Center for Human Rights. On the 27th of May 2004 the Center was broken into and badly vandalized. Reportedly, two men concealing their identity with masks broke into the offices and destroyed computers and other office equipment. One staff member of the Center was present during the attack.
The Kazan Human Rights Center (in the autonomous republic of Tatarstan, Russia), is a human rights organization providing legal support for victims of human rights violations from the side of law enforcement bodies. From April 2003 to May 2004 human rights activists received more than 140 complaints on illegal activity of Tatarstan law enforcement bodies. All of them were checked. As a result the Center’s lawyers managed to initiate 11 official investigations on tortures and corruption against 11 militia officers. The court found four militiamen guilty; six others are waiting for trials.
