ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study on collective punishment in Chechnya from 1999 onwards. Chechnya has fought two non-international armed conflicts against Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and although large-scale fighting ceased over a decade ago, it is still disputed whether there is a non-international armed conflict going on in Chechnya or not. In addition to providing some background on these conflicts, the chapter addresses the theoretical question as to when armed conflicts end. The chapter continues with different forms of collective punishment employed in Chechnya such as zachistkas and house burning and a Russian-wide law requiring family members of terrorists to take responsibility for terrorist attacks, which amounts to collective punishment. The use of collective punishment in practice as well as in law supports the general aim of this book to address collective punishment outside armed conflict and establish a prohibition under human rights law. A short review of cases of the European Court of Human Rights and, due to its relevance in the Chechen context, the Austrian Asylum Court, dealing with collective punishment in Chechnya concludes the chapter.
