Russia has described video footage showing mutilated bodies in a mass grave, apparently in Chechnya, as propaganda; although Moscow has said that it is investigating the matter. The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, has expressed great concern at the reports. The video, which was shot by a German journalist, shows bodies, reputedly of Chechen fighters, wrapped in barbed wire.
Russian soldiers are seen throwing one body into the grave from a tank, dragging another behind a truck and burying the corpses in a shallow pit. The film has been shown on BBC Television. Human rights groups have claimed that the video proves Russian military have been torturing and executing Chechen rebels.
A spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch, Elizabeth Anderson, said the United States and other key countries should press the IMF and World Bank to link credits to Russia with a proper investigation and an international presence in Chechnya. Speaking on Morning Ireland today, Michael Hawk, who works with Human Rights Watch in Moscow, said that the Russian Government would not be surprised by the latest revelations. The images were filmed by a German journalist.
