Mothers of some missing Chechens seek help finding their sons

Mothers of some missing Chechens have returned hope from European human rights groups, seeking help to find their own sons, who fear that they may have been killed by authorities in southern Russia.

Through a letter, they have asked all groups for help.

The Northern Caucasus Service, Radio Free Europe, has obtained a copy of this letter, which has been signed by ten Chechen women, who have indicated about their efforts to locate their sons, but none of them has resulted in success with Russian officials.

The independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported in July that 27 people in Chechnya may have been executed without trial in January, after being arrested for clashes with police during December.

The paper has reported that as family members were forced to sign some documents in which missing persons were voluntarily removed from Chechnya, they had no evidence to reason with the authorities.