Moscow - The head of the Council of Europe called on Moscow yesterday to explain the fate of up to 18,000 Chechens who have reportedly gone missing during Russia's 11-month crackdown in breakaway Chechnya.
Mr Walter Schwimmer, general secretary of the pan-European rights and democracy body, also voiced concern about alleged mistreatment at Russian detention centres in Chechnya. "Particular attention should be paid to the fate of the estimated 18,000 reported missing persons," Mr Schwimmer told a hearing on the human rights situation in Chechnya at Russia's State Duma, the lower house of parliament.