BASAYEV'S WIDOW ABDUCTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 009356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER PINR RS
SUBJECT: BASAYEV'S WIDOW ABDUCTED


Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Alice Wells.
Reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The abduction of a female journalist in
Chechnya that prompted public appeals from human rights
groups could have consequences for the Chechen newspaper that
employed her as a stringer and the groups seeking her
release, following the revelation that she is Shamil
Basayev's widow. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) On August 17, Elina Ersenoyeva was abducted in
Groznyy by men believed to belong to either Russian or
Chechen security forces. According to Ersenoyeva's aunt, who
was taken with her but later released, the two had bags
placed over their heads, were put in separate cars, and taken
to a basement. After about two hours, the aunt was released.
She told human rights activists that she did not know what
happened to Ersonoyeva. Two days prior to the abduction,
Ersenoyeva had written to the Demos Center and the
International Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
complaining that she and her family were being "persecuted"
by members of the Chechen paramilitary loyal to Chechen Prime
Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. Ersenoyeva attributed the pressure
to the fact she had married a rebel fighter in November 2005.


3. (C) Demos Center Director Tanya Lokshina and other human
rights organizations on August 18 released public appeals for
Ersenoyeva's release, describing her as a journalist and
civic activist based on her work with the independent Chechen
newspaper Chechen Society and an AIDs prevention group known
as INFO-MOST. On August 24, Lokshina said she learned from
Ersenoyeva's family that the fighter Ersenoyeva married was
Basayev. The family maintained that the marriage had been
forced upon Ersenoyeva, a claim that Lokshina takes with a
grain of salt but believes is credible. The family said
Ersenoyeva had been approached by the wife of Chechen
"President" Abdul Khalim Saidullayev, a distant relative, who
told Ersenoyeva that a groom had been found for her.
Lokshina said the family believed that had Ersenoyeva
refused, they would have been targeted by the rebels. The
family told Lokshina that Ersenoyeva had spent six weeks with
Basayev.


4. (C) Lokshina is concerned that for human rights
organizations who publicized the case, and for Timur Aliev,
the editor of Chechen Society as her employer, there was a
danger that they would now be seen by security services as
supporters of the rebels. Lokshina said any denials they had
not known Ersenoyeva's connection to Basayev would be met by
authorities with skepticism at a minimum, and in Aliev's
case, as an outright lie because he worked in the North
Caucasus. While it was too early to know, she said,
authorities could use the Ersenoyev case to connect her,
Aliev, and others to Basayev -- no matter how tenuous the
connection -- and use it against them.


5. (C) COMMENT: Lokshina and other prominent human rights
groups that have criticized abuses in Chechnya have generally
been scrupulous in avoiding any appearance of supporting
terrorists like Basayev. Likewise, Aliev, who has won
numerous awards for his work in the North Caucasus, is a
highly regarded independent journalist. Their criticisms of
the GOR and its Chechen allies have not been well received by
the authorities, but they have continued to work without too
much interference. This inadvertent linkage to Basayev will
raise their profile and potential vulnerability.
BURNS