June 8, 2001
 
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At dawn, in the village of Raduzhnoye, Grozny region, Russian units carried out a “cleansing operation”. During it, a large number of people were insulted and beaten. Some of them subsequently had to seek medical help.

On the outskirts of the village, Russian law enforcement officers stopped and burned a VAZ-2109 car. The Metaev brothers, Ilyas, born in 1974, and Khizir, born in 1978, as well as Artur Ilyasov, born in 1980, who were in it, were taken away in an unknown direction.

The detainees Ilyas and Khizir Metaev are relatives of Odes Topaevich Metaev, whose tortured corpse was found in February in the holiday village "Zdorovye" near the military base of Russian troops in Chechnya "Khankala".

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In the center of the city of Nazran, local police officers beat refugees from the Chechen Republic. Women laid out vegetables, fruits and essentials in front of the entrance to the Marhaba market. The district inspector approached and warned that it was impossible to trade in this place. After some bickering, the women packed their goods into bags and walked to a nearby bus stop.

Unexpectedly, the same policeman and two more policemen began to scatter and trample on things belonging to the refugees. Shouting that the traders were going to return to their original place and were waiting for them to leave, the law enforcement officers cursed and threatened them. The women tried to recapture their goods. In response, punches and kicks rained down on them.

Due to illegal actions of police officers, five women and a passer-by, a Chechen, who stood up for them, were injured. The most severely beaten was Saudat Shakhmurzayeva, an invalid of the second group. With bruises, a suspected broken arm and high blood pressure (the woman could not move without assistance), she was taken to the hospital.
 
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During the “cleansing” about two dozen residents of the village of Khatuni, Vedeno district, were detained. Relatives turned to human rights and humanitarian organizations with a request to assist in their release. They claimed that the captured people were kept in pits on the territory of the 45th and 119th regiments of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Defense Ministry, located on the outskirts of the settlement. According to them, the Russian military demanded a ransom for them in money and weapons.

Abdul-Baki Bakarov, 65, head of the post office in the village of Makhkety, was also placed in the pit. On that day, in his own car, he went to the regional center for a pension for his fellow villagers. On the way, he was stopped by the Russian military and, having taken him to the location of the 45th regiment, they threw him into a pit. For their release, they demanded 2,000 US dollars and “some weapons” from their relatives: two pistols and machine guns each, as well as a machine gun.

During the "cleansing" of Khatuni, the military carried away gold items and money from the houses, took away equipment and carpets. In addition, they beat and insulted people, including women. In one case, a barn was set on fire at a local resident.

Memorial Human Rights Center knows that two of those detained that day, Bislan Durtaev and Supyan Tashuev, later disappeared without a trace.
  
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According to the statement of the representative of the command of the United Forces (Joint Group of Forces) in Chechnya, an armored personnel carrier was blown up by a mine near the village of Mairtup, Kurchaloevsky district; two policemen were killed. On the same day, a "cleansing operation" began in the village, which was continued on June 9. The operation took place against the background of harsh statements from the Russian military.

Thus, on the second day of the “cleansing operation,” Lieutenant-General Vladimir Moltenskoy told an Interfax correspondent: “We cannot resort to tit-for-tat tactics, but we cannot promise Mairtup a quiet life for two weeks either.”

In turn, on June 26, Akhmad Kadyrov told reporters that the return of refugees to Chechnya was largely hindered by "cleansing operations accompanied by looting and outrages against civilians." As an example, he cited the events in Mairtup, where, as he claimed, "300 people who were not involved in illegal actions were detained."
Memorial Human Rights Center received information about what happened in this village from the affected people. From their stories it follows that on the morning of June 8, the village was blocked by significant forces of the “feds”. The “cleansing” that began, as in most similar cases, was carried out in the absence of the commandant and the head of the administration.

The officers of the OMON of the Tver region, who were entrusted with the functions of the village police and who usually were on duty at the checkpoint near the settlement, closed themselves in its building and did not interfere in what was happening. Meanwhile, the military robbed the property of local residents, extorted money from them. Under various pretexts, young men were detained and several murders were committed, including a minor.

14-year-old Apti Akhyadov's temporary identity card, due to an oversight by employees of the passport and visa service of the Kurchaloy district, incorrectly indicated the place of residence: the village of Alleroy instead of Mairtup. Knowing that such a mistake could lead to big trouble, his grandmother advised him to hide from the Russian military approaching the house. He first ran, and then tried to climb over the fence, but was seen. One of the soldiers fired at close range and mortally wounded him.

The shooter could clearly see that a teenager was running away from them. In addition, Apti Akhyadov was small in stature. After the shot, according to eyewitnesses, he hung on the fence. A 16-year-old brother ran up to him, crying. He was immediately seized and beaten.

The oath assurances of the latter that he would later come to the commandant's office himself, and the military ignored the request not to take away the murdered brother until the funeral was over. They threw him into an APC and took him away in an unknown direction.

The incident with Apti Akhyadov overflowed the patience of local residents. Driven to despair by the arbitrariness on the part of the military who arrived for the “cleansing”, they put the body of the murdered man on a stretcher and headed through the village towards Kurchaloy. On the way, a crowd of indignant people approached two armored personnel carriers. The military, who were in the yards of private households, ran out into the street and climbed onto the armor. One of the women could not restrain herself and threw a stone in their direction. In response, the submachine gunner sitting on the combat vehicle, taking aim, fired at her. But a colleague managed to push his hand, and the line went up. He tried to open fire again, but he was again prevented.

The inhabitants of Mairtup wanted the officer who commanded the operation in the village to talk to them. They were going to demand from him not even to stop the “cleansing”, but to comply with Russian laws during its implementation. Nevertheless, by opening fire, the military tried to stop the crowd. The bullets hit the ground in the immediate vicinity of the protesters' feet, flying over their heads. Several shots were also fired at a pile of stones in front of which local residents were standing. The bullets ricocheted and seriously injured three men and a woman.

Even after that, no one began to disperse. The military had to give in: they said they would call their commander if the protesters moved ten meters away from them. Then it was proposed to select three people who would be allowed to go to the village administration building to talk to the officer in charge of the operation.

Soon, Odyssey Danaev, deputy military commandant of the Kurchaloy district, arrived at the place where the protesting residents of Mairtup had gathered. He was in a benevolent mood, so people told him about the course of the “cleansing” and the military violations committed. The deputy commandant promised that henceforth such operations would be carried out only in the presence of employees of the military and civil administration.

The brother of the deceased Apti Akhyadov was released only late in the evening. No charges were brought against him. In addition to him, according to eyewitnesses, at least 28 people were detained in the village. They were all beaten and tortured. The military tortured people on the territory of the grain market, where pits were dug to contain the captured.

From the book "People Live Here", Usam Baisaev, Dmitry Grushkin, 2006