News

June 10, 2009 21:00

• Russian human rights defenders demand release of Arshaluis Akopyan arrested in Armenia

  Russian human rights activists express their indignation with political prosecutions in Armenia and demand that the authorities of the country immediately release Arshaluis Akopyan, a representative of the Helsinki Association.

June 10, 2009 20:00

• Alik Le: new "Olympstroy" boss should start dialogue with Sochi residents

  Alik Le, leader of the public organization "Union of Imereti Residents", believes that previous "Olympstroy" bosses tried solving their problems separately from the interests of Sochi residents. According to his story, Taimuraz Bolloev, the new head of this state corporation, has no time for getting into his mission - he should start acting, and his first step should be to start dialogue with the population.

June 10, 2009 18:00

• Evkurov: suspects of murdering Deputy Chair of Supreme Court of Ingushetia established

  Suspects of today morning's murder of Aza Gazgireyeva, Deputy Chair of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia, are established, as reported by President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov.

June 09, 2009 23:40

• In Georgia, journalists demand ensuring freedom of mass media

  On June 8, several dozens of Georgian journalists and members of NGOs held a protest action at the building of the National Commission for Communications with a demand to ensure the freedom of mass media.

June 09, 2009 23:30

• Yuri Budanov interrogated on suspicion of murdering Chechen residents

  Yuri Budanov, who served his term for murdering a Chechen girl, and released in the end of 2008, was interrogated as a suspect under a new criminal case. The ex-colonel is suspected of involvement to murdering three residents of Chechnya.

June 09, 2009 23:00

• "Memorial": clannish traditions are threats to Dagestan

  The Islamic armed underground groupings of Dagestan are a serious danger; and the state should fight them; however even a greater danger is in the clannish lifestyle traditional for the republic, when groups of clans fight for power. This is the topic of the statement made by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in the context of the recent murder in Makhachkala of Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.

June 09, 2009 22:30

• A military wounded in Ingushetia

  Today in Ingushetia, on the "Kavkaz" Federal Highway, in the area of municipal district Gamurdievo of the city of Nazran, unidentified persons shelled a column of sappers from grenade launchers. A soldier was slightly wounded.

June 09, 2009 22:00

• Apaev: Chechen authorities can hide information about Doku Umarov's death till June 12

  So far, there is no reliable data confirming the death of Doku Umarov, leader of Chechen separatists, who declared himself in 2007 to be the commander of Caucasian mujahads. However, observers do not exclude that the authorities plan to announce Umarov's liquidation by the forthcoming holidays. According to Aslambek Apaev, an expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group for Northern Caucasus, if Umarov was really killed, the fact will be disclosed only by June 12, the Day of Russia.

June 09, 2009 21:00

• Yamadaev brothers' relatives fear for their life

  Relatives of the brothers Isa and Musa Yamadaev, who were summoned by investigatory bodies to the North-Ossetian city of Mozdok for interrogation on the case about disappearance of one of the soldiers of the recently disbanded special-purpose GRU battalion "Vostok", are afraid for their life.

June 09, 2009 20:10

• Danielyan: human rights defender beaten by police for the first time in Armenian history

  The health condition of Arshaluist Akopyan, a representative of the Helsinki Association, who is now in custody in Armenia, is currently normal; he was already visited by advocate Gayane Khachatryan. Mikael Danielyan, human rights activist and chairman of the Helsinki Association told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it.

June 09, 2009 19:00

• "Reporters without Borders" are concerned of appeals to put Internet in Azerbaijan under control

  Jean-Francois Juliar, secretary general of the international organization in defence of the press "Reporters without Borders" (RwB) has sent messages to Ali Gasanov, head of the political division of President's Administration, and Nushiravan Magerramli, chairman of the National Television and Radio Board (NTRB), expressing his concern of the statements proposing to set up control over the Internet space of Azerbaijan.

June 09, 2009 18:00

• Trial on Nalchik attack postponed because of advocate's absence

  The judicial session due today on the criminal case on attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, was cancelled because of absence of advocate Magomed Abubakarov, who left for Chechnya to take part in some other trial. His clients refused to be tried without him.

June 08, 2009 23:10

• Members of Makhachkala antiterrorist commission criticise the work of militia

  Today, the Mayoralty of Makhachkala hosted a regular sitting of the city's antiterrorist commission, which brought together activists, workers of power agencies, intellectuals, mass media and leaders of official confessions. In the course of the sitting, the participants criticised the work of militia.

June 08, 2009 23:00

• In Armenia, fact-finding group on opposition's collisions with police disbanded

  President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan has signed an order to nullify his Decree of October 23, 2008, which stipulated setting up and formation order of the fact-finding group about clashes of the opposition with the police on March 1, 2008, in Yerevan.

June 08, 2009 22:00

• Fight for Dagestan presidency is one of the versions under Interior Minister's murder

  The murder of Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan, can have something to do with the presidential election to be held in February 2010. According to some sources, Mr Magomedtagirov could be considered as a candidate for President of Dagestan, should the Kremlin decide to bank on a "strong hand" in the republic.

June 08, 2009 22:00

• Dispersal victims of November 7, 2007, in Georgia file complaint to European Court

  Advocates of the NGO named "Priority of Human Rights" have sent a complaint of the citizens, who suffered in the course of dispersal of a protest action in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007, to the European Court on Human Rights.

June 08, 2009 21:10

• Murder of assistant of First Vice-Premier of Chechnya could be militants' revenge

  Law enforcers of Chechnya are now searching the unknown person who shot dead, last Saturday, on June 6, in Argun, Musost Khutiev, assistant for power agencies of the First Vice-Premier of the Government of Chechnya and former Brigade General of Armed Forces of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. Militants' revenge is viewed by inspectors as the main versions of the murder.

June 08, 2009 21:00

• Canadian model runs a new programme on Chechen TV

  Starting June 7, the "Grozny" Chechen State Television and Radio Company (ChSTRC) broadcasts an English-language new programme "View from within by Crystall Callahan" run by a Canadian model. It is planned that the programme will appear once a week, every Sunday.

June 08, 2009 20:00

• Dzhavadly: Herd Bucerius Prize is a support of Azerbaijani free press

  According to Natik Dzhavadly, a correspondent of the "Bizim Yol" newspaper, the Herd Bucerius Award granted to workers of Azerbaijani media is a serious support of the advocates of free press in this country.

June 08, 2009 19:00

• Observer at election of Yerevan Mayor arrested in Armenia

  Arshaluis Akopyan, a photo journalist of the website of the Helsinki Association and a member of a human rights NGO, who acted as an observer at election of Yerevan Mayor on May 31, was arrested on June 5 in Armenia and charged under Article 316, part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (CC RA): "Resistance to power officials".