LORD JUDD SHARPENS CRITICISM OF KREMLIN

Britain’s Lord Frank Judd has been moving toward a stronger anti-Kremlin position on Chechnya ever since he resigned in the spring from his position as the Council of Europe’s chief specialist on the subject. That trend continued to be evident in his remarks at a November 13 press conference following Judge Workman’s refusal to extradite Akhmed Zakaev. “During the last five years,” said Lord Judd, “when I was rapporteur for the Council of Europe for Chechnya, many of my colleagues reproached me for playing up to the Russian side…I must say that this was not so. I did give the Russian side the benefit of the doubt on some issues because I was hoping for reason and justice from the Russian authorities….However, after the March pseudo-referendum and all that has happened since…I have come to understand that it is impossible to obtain justice in that country.” (Chechnya Weekly has back-translated Lord Judd’s words from the Russian version in the November 14 issue of Kommersant.)