News

March 11, 2009 20:00

• Azerbaijani columnists alarmed of the freedom of press

  "Freedom of press is in danger!" - this was the motto of today's action held in Baku at the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety by the "ASI Club" (Club of "Advocates of freedom of speech"), which unites columnists of the leading mass media of Azerbaijan.

March 11, 2009 19:00

• Evkurov promised to relatives of Ingushetian prisoners to take the case under his personal control

  President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov has met relatives of the 12 defendants in the case about the attack on Ingushetia in 2004, who are kept in custody for the fifth year already, and, according to the relatives, are exposed to torture. The President plans to take the case under his special supervision.

March 11, 2009 18:00

• Members of Russian Public Chamber and human rights activists discuss kidnapping issue in Dagestan

  A delegation of the Russian Public Chamber headed by Nikolai Svanidze and well-known Russian human rights defenders held a meeting with top managers of the law enforcement bodies of Dagestan and Republic's NGOs. The delegation was also received by President of Dagestan Mukhu Aliev.

March 10, 2009 23:00

• Levon Barsegyan: Armenian authorities exert less pressure on media

  Armenia has exhibited some progress in the freedom of mass media, however, "in special cases" the authorities can strengthen their pressure on journalists; such pressure is the strongest on media of Yerevan, as Levon Barsegyan, President of the Journalists' Press Club "Asparez", has noted.

March 10, 2009 23:00

• Volgograd Region: huntsman who detained poaching bureaucrats complains of threats

  Huntsman Sergey Matveev who detained Vassily Farion, head of the Department of the Russian Federal Taxation Service for the Volgograd Region, and his two companions, who were hunting for roes without a license in the Scherbakov Game Husbandry in the Kamyshin District, now complains of threats.

March 10, 2009 22:30

• Switzerland to build cottages for 42 refugee families in Ingushetia

  In 2009, the Swiss Administration for Development and Cooperation (SADC) plans to build cottages in Ingushetia for 42 families of forced migrants from the Chechen Republic. This was stated by Peter Mikula, head of the coordination office for cooperation of the Swiss Embassy in Russia, during his meeting with President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov.

March 10, 2009 22:00

• Fourth victim of the explosion of "Vladikavkaz-Moscow" train dies in Rostov-on-Don

  The militiaman who was burned by the explosion of the dining-car of the "Vladikavkaz-Moscow" train has died in the first-aid hospital of Rostov-on-Don. Thus, the death-roll of the explosion has reached four persons.

March 10, 2009 21:20

• Armen Arutyunyan calls Armenian authorities to give up totalitarianism

  On March 10, at the presentation of his report on the situation with human rights in 2008, Ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan called the country leaders to give up the administrative repressive model that was inherited from Soviet times and pass over to democratic rule with ensuring the balance mechanism and actual division of power branches.

March 10, 2009 21:00

• Novorossisk hosts a picket for cancellation of curfew for teenagers

  On March 7, another rally was held in the city of Novorossisk, Krasnodar Territory, demanding to cancel the curfew for children. The picketers voiced protest against two articles of the Law of the Krasnodar Territory of 21.07.2008 No. 1539-KZ "On Measures to Prevent Child Neglect and Minors' Offences in Krasnodar Territory".

March 10, 2009 20:00

• Till March 19, only one defendant will attend sessions on "Case of Seven"

  The today's session on the "Case of Seven" lasted for a couple of minutes only and was postponed till March 11. The reason was the absence of advocate Stepan Voskanyan, who was busy in some other litigation. At the same time, only one defendant - Grigor Voskerchyan - was present at the session.

March 10, 2009 20:00

• Relatives of Ingushetian inmates hope for meeting with Evkurov

  Today at the picket in the city of Magas, relatives of the 12 inmates kept at the local IVS (pre-trial custody) have reported that they cherish hope for the meeting with President of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov. The meeting should take place tomorrow, on March 11, in the President's Administration. The relatives demand to stop protracting the litigation.

March 10, 2009 19:20

• Brinikh: Imereti residents at risk to stay landless

  In relation to the people, whose houses are within the construction zone of Olympiad-2014 objects, the authorities of Sochi are holding the tactics "by hook or by crook". Valery Brinikh, co-chairman of the board of the international NGO named "Social-Ecological Union", told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

March 10, 2009 19:00

• Azerbaijan: opposition calls to boycott referendum

  The Public Movement "For Karabakh and Republic" has announced a boycott of the referendum appointed on March 18 on amendments to the Constitution. The decision was made today at the meeting of the leaders of the parties and NGOs-members of the Public Movement.

March 10, 2009 18:00

• Advocates in attack-on-Nalchik case appeal against cancellation of juries

  A group of advocates involved in the case about the attack on power bodies of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) in October 2005 have sent a cassation complaint to the Supreme Court of Russia against the decision of the KBR's Supreme Court to cancel the jury. The lawyers ask to cancel the decision because it worsens the status of defendants, which is forbidden by the laws of the Russian Federation (RF).

March 09, 2009 22:00

• Georgian MPs offer studying the problems of Georgians living in Azerbaijan

  At the session of the Georgian parliamentary committee for relations with compatriots abroad, the MPs offered to set up a working group for dealing with the problems the Georgian living in Azerbaijan.

March 09, 2009 21:00

• In Armenia, a defendant on "Case of Seven" has poor health condition

  Ombudsman Armen Arutyunyan told journalists about his intention to address the Ministry of Justice because health condition of Shant Arutyunyan, one of the defendants in the "Case of Seven", is very grave.

March 09, 2009 20:00

• Kitsmarishvili, former Georgia's ambassador to Russia complains of beating by MIA General

  Former ambassador of Georgia Erosi Kitsmarishvili has accused Irakliy Kodua, a high-ranking official of Georgian MIA, and his relatives of beating him, which, as he said, was politically motivated.

March 09, 2009 20:00

• Parents fix responsibility on authorities for death of their children on March 1 2008

  Alla Ovanisyan, mother of Tigran Khachatryan, 23, who died as a result of application by the police of gas weapon "Cheryomukha-7" in the course of dispersal of the oppositional action on March 1, 2008, has stated that her son was killed by the authorities.

March 09, 2009 19:00

• About 50,000 residents of Georgia are ready to demand Saakashvili's resignation

  The oppositional parties of Georgia have gathered some 50,000 signatures of Tbilisi residents, who are ready to take part in the rally on April 9 in the centre of the capital with a resignation demand of President Mikhail Saakashvili. The signing-in campaign will continue, as Eka Beseliya, one of the leaders of the United Opposition of Georgia, said today at a briefing.

March 09, 2009 19:00

• In Tbilisi, police disperses action of oppositional movement named "November 7"

  Today in Tbilisi, the police has dispersed the action, organized in Rustaveli Avenue by the members of youth organizations who have united into the oppositional movement "November 7".