Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is reaping the rewards of Ruud Gullit’s presence as manager of Terek Grozny football club. Russian human rights lawyer Oleg Khabibrakhmanov believes that, by allying himself with the fortunes of the Chechen capital’s team, the Dutch football star is inadvertently polishing up President Kadyrov’s shady reputation.

Mr Khabibrakhmanov is visiting the Netherlands this week and is keen for the Dutch government to put political pressure on Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to order an investigation into human rights violations in Chechnya. To date, the Kremlin has maintained a stony silence on abuses in the troubled Russian republic.

The human rights lawyer explains “The Netherlands is the first country we are approaching. In recent years we have worked hard to collect evidence in Chechnya, evidence we are prepared to hand over to the Russian authorities. Political pressure from the Netherlands can help our cause.”

A strange choice
Mr Khabibrakhmanov does not have much to say about Ruud Gullit himself. But he does think the Dutchman’s decision to sign up for Terek Grozny is a strange one. “Perhaps parts of the population have spent their whole lives dreaming of watching Gullit play in Chechnya,” he says cynically. “But I have the impression that most of them are against his presence. Gullit should really have known that human rights advocates have their doubts about Kadyrov and why so many violations are taking place in his Republic of Chechnya.”

The Russian lawyer has spent years combating human rights violations in Chechnya. Until 2001 he was a police officer in Russia and saw his colleagues’ disregard for the rules with his own eyes. He set up his own human rights centre in the Russian city of Kazan and later started working for the Committee Against Torture, an organisation that is also active in Chechnya. Mr Khabibrakhmanov argues that even after the Chechen conflict between 1999 and 2002, human rights have been violated in the Russian republic on a massive scale.

Torture and disappearances
“In Chechnya we are investigating cases of torture and disappearances, often carried out by the secret service. The problem is that the public prosecutors in Chechnya are too afraid to conduct an investigation. And the Public Prosecutions Service cannot rely on the support of government departments. They sometimes know who has disappeared or been tortured but no information is forthcoming. The whole investigation is sabotaged.”

Mr Khabibrakhmanov believes Chechen President Razman Kadyrov is aware of the disappearances. The secret service comes under his authority. But Mr Kadyrov has not lifted a finger to change the situation.

Protection
The work that Mr Khabibrakhmanov does in Chechnya is dangerous. In April 2005 Murad Muradov of the aid organisation Let's Save the Generation was abducted and killed. The same fate awaited his successor Sarema Sadulajeva and her husband in August 2009. Isn’t Mr Khabibrakhamov afraid? “No,” he says firmly. “If you are afraid, you cannot work in Chechnya. We work in the public domain. That is our protection. The authorities know that.”

Next week, human rights organisations – including Mr Khabibrakhmanov’s own – will hold a press conference with the aim of changing Mr Medvedev’s mind. The organisations will present specific examples of human rights violations in Chechnya. If the Kremlin does not respond, Mr Khabibrakhmanov hopes that the Netherlands together with other European countries will exert its influence on the Russian president.