By empty (10/20/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Deputy head of the Uzgen Raion police Mamatali Turgunbaev announced on 20 October that law enforcement officers have been unable to find any trace of Uzgen Mullah Sadykjan Rakhmanov, who disappeared on 7 September. The disappearance of Rakhmanov, who organized groups making the pilgrimage to Mecca, has been linked by the Kyrgyz authorities to the Uzbek security service, but law enforcement officials in Uzbekistan have denied any knowledge of him. Kyrgyz police have been trying to interview an Uzbek security officer from the town of Namangan, who reportedly bought the car in which witnesses said Rakhmanov was abducted, but Uzbek authorities have told the Kyrgyz investigators that the officer has been transferred to a distant oblast.

By empty (10/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

The number of women who attempt to burn themselves to death is increasing in Tajikistan, \"Asia-Plus\" reported on 19 October, citing statistics from the Prosecutor- General\'s Office. According to the prosecutor-general\'s figures, 33 self-immolations were attempted in 2002, while 90 cases were registered in the first six months of 2003. The problem is particularly serious in northern Tajikistan\'s Sughd Oblast, where 113 cases of self-immolation have been registered in 2003, against 115 cases in the previous two years.

By empty (10/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)

Akhmed-hadji Kadyrov was inaugurated as Chechen president amid tight security measures in the town of Gudermes on 19 October. Kadyrov announced before the ceremony that he would not swear the inaugural oath on the Koran as “I am not the leader of an Islamic state.” Kadyrov swore in Russian to implement the Chechen Constitution and uphold human rights and freedoms.