Russia accuses British charity of spying

Princess Diana was at the forefront of the anti-mine campaign

From CNN staff and wire reports

MOSCOW -- Russia's main intelligence agency has accused a British mine-clearing charity, sponsored by the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, of spying in Chechnya.

The Halo Trust, which was promoted by the princess during a 1997 trip to Angola shortly before her death, was alleged to have spied on Russian forces and trained Chechen rebels in planting land mines.

The Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB's main successor, said in a statement on Thursday that Halo Trust workers gathered descriptions of Russian weapons from Chechen-held territory until last November for the British secret services.

"Representatives of Halo collected intelligence of a military-political character, and with these aims maintained close contacts with Chechen leaders and ... established a many-pronged network of informers from the local population," the statement said.

The FSB also said that Halo had trained its Chechen staff to both clear and plant land mines.

Halo Trust "is training demolition specialists for international terrorist groups fighting Chechnya," it said.

The FSB said Halo opened its office in Chechnya in 1997 with the help of Chechnya's President Aslan Maskhadov without permission from Russian authorities.

The trust's funding comes from various government's including those of Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Japan, Canada, as well as private donations.

Last year the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, gave £153,000 ($230,000) to Halo for its mine-clearing work in Afghanistan and Cambodia. The fund would not comment on the Russian allegations.

Halo, a non-profit making agency, has denied the allegations, saying they were "rubbish."

Halo director Guy Willoughby told CNN.com: "I do not know how the FSB has come to make these allegations.

"We just completely deny this sort of allegation, that we were in any way supporting mine laying or any form of terrorist activity.

"We were running a standard humanitarian mine clearing operation and the Russian authorities knew about it."

The trust recruited about 150 Chechens to help its small contingent of international staff working in the breakaway republic after the 1994-96 war between Chechen separatists and Russia.

It pulled out in September last year after Russia again sent its military into Chechnya, but continued to send aid until December.

Willoughby added: "We are angry about the allegations and worried about our ex-staff who had been working for us, going out into the fields everyday to clear mines.

"We find that particularly upsetting."

Russian planes showered mines on Chechnya during two campaigns in the breakaway republic and have mined areas surrounding military installations.

Halo said it had recorded 296 mined areas in Chechnya after the 1994-96 war which were still preventing refugees from returning home.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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The Halo Trust
Human Rights Watch
Center for Defense Information
Russian Informational Center
Diana, the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund

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