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Russia denies German TV report of Chechnya executions
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In this story: Rights groups say they can document abuses Western countries call for investigation RELATED STORIES, SITES 
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MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russian officials are vehemently denying a German television report accusing troops in Chechnya of executing Chechen prisoners, saying the bodies shown were those of combat casualties.
The German network N24 aired graphic pictures of Russian troops throwing corpses into a pit -- apparently the bodies of Chechen rebels. The feet of the dead are bound with wire, and some bodies appear mutilated, with their ears cut off.
But a government spokesman said Friday the soldiers were burying men killed in battle, not executed prisoners. The videotape, they say, has been used out of context.
"The corpses you see on the tape are Chechen fighters gathered from various locations -- in many cases, brought there from places far away from the burial site," said Sergei Yastrzhembsky, an aide to acting President Vladimir Putin. "That's why their legs were tied together with wire instead of rope, which breaks when the corpses are dragged."
The tape itself gives no indication of how the dead met their fates. N24 editor-in-chief Florian Martius said his reporter had been at the scene, though a Russian photographer filmed the burial. He would not say when or where the footage was shot, citing his reporter's safety.
"What we cannot confirm is that these are proof of atrocities," he said. N24, which acquired the footage from a Russian photographer, said their reporter was granted full access by Russian troops in Chechnya who disagreed with their commanders about the orders they'd been told to carry out. But the cameraman who originally shot the videotape said Friday he and his colleagues are unhappy about how the pictures have been used. "They were all shocked by what's happened," photographer Oleg Blodsky said. Rights groups say they can document abusesWhile Moscow questioned the tape's authenticity, human rights advocates said they have documented other cases of abuses in the five-month campaign to restore Russian rule in Chechnya. They say the Kremlin isn't doing enough to investigate reports filtering out of the war zone. "The evidence about these abuses is just overwhelming, and the blanket denials of the Russian authorities just cannot stand in the way of this overwhelming evidence," said Peter Bouckaert, a spokesman for the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch has been at the forefront of allegations about Russian conduct of the war in Chechnya, calling for an international investigation into what it says are widespread abuses in the rebel republic. Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Friday that military prosecutors would investigate the claims reported by the German network. At the same time, Ivanov announced that European Union Human Rights Commissioner Alvaro Gil-Robles would be allowed to visit the troubled North Caucasus region. In recent weeks, Human Rights Watch has documented what it says are numerous abuses committed by Russian soldiers, both in their treatment of civilians and their treatment of captured Chechen soldiers. The group says it has gathered accounts and photographs of some of the alleged abuses. Previous allegations of human rights violations have focused on the treatment of Chechen civilians, tens of thousands of whom were forced to flee their homes as Russian forces moved across the territory last fall. The group this week published names of 50 Chechens it said were executed in Grozny as Russian soldiers took over the Chechen capital. Thirty-four of those died in what the group called a "killing spree" in the town of Aldi, based on refugees' accounts. Western countries call for investigationWestern countries, long critical of the Russian war in Chechnya, offered new expressions of concern Friday after the German report aired. Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy summoned Russian diplomats in Ottawa for discussions, urging Moscow to work with the international community to investigate the reports. "While we do not have any further information to support the authenticity of these claims, if these allegations are accurate, it confirms some of our worst fears with respect to this conflict," Axworthy said. U.S. President Bill Clinton said reports of such incidents in Chechnya were very troubling, and he urged Russia to allow international agencies to investigate alleged rights abuses. "I think it is imperative for the Russians to allow the appropriate international agencies unfettered access to do the right inquiries, to find out what really went on and to deal with it in an appropriate way," Clinton said in Washington. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, just back from a trip to Moscow, said he spoke to Ivanov by phone Friday "to ask him directly for an investigation of these allegations." Gil-Robles said he would be satisfied if Ivanov's assurances of a forthcoming investigation prove true. But Javier Solana, European Union foreign policy chief, said he wants an independent inquiry. Reuters contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: Putin vows to talk with Chechen factions as Russia storms rebel hideouts RELATED SITES: Government of Russia | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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CNN's Matthew Chance examines the videotape and what it may mean. (February 25) WARNING: Contains footage that some may find disturbing.
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