News

February 26, 2009 18:00

• Armenia: judge in "Case of Seven" refuses to resign

  Today, during a session on the so-called "Case of Seven", Judge Mnatsakan Martirosyan, who is presiding over the litigation, has rejected his three challenges lodged by the defence.

February 25, 2009 23:00

• Azerbaijani human rights activist call the authorities to release all political prisoners

  The situation in Azerbaijan with human rights remains a concern, conclude the participants of the roundtable held with involvement of the leading human rights activists of the country on February 24 at the Baku Media Centre. On results of discussions, a document was adopted containing an appeal to the authorities to release all political prisoners.

February 25, 2009 22:00

• Human Rights Watch states excessive use of force by police at dispersal of rally in Armenia

  The international Human Rights Watch called the authorities of Armenia, in the HRW report, published on February 25 and covering the elections and post-electoral processes in Armenia in 2008, to make the police responsible for disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators on March 1, 2008, when at least 10 persons perished in clashes with policemen.

February 25, 2009 22:00

• North Ossetia: local resident who exploited soldiers detained

  In North Ossetia, employees of law enforcement bodies have detained a resident of Vladikavkaz, who employed for working in his flower hothouses six regular soldiers, sent to him by their commander.

February 25, 2009 21:00

• Bastrykin is sure that Makhmudovs were involved in Politkovskaya's murder

  Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russian ICPO (Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office), has stated that the investigation has no doubts that the defendants who were acquitted last week had been involved in Anna Politkovskaya's murder.

February 25, 2009 20:00

• Adelkhanov: boycott of the Russian language will ruin Georgian-Russian relations

  The action of Georgian radio stations, which have refused to broadcast Russian-language songs during the whole day today, can seriously aggravate already tense relation between Tbilisi and Moscow, asserts Emil Adelkhanov, a human rights activist and a member of the Board of the "Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development".

February 25, 2009 19:00

• Person acquitted in Politkovskaya's case suspected of extorting 350,000 US dollars

  Sergey Khadzhikurbanov, recently acquitted in Anna Politkovskaya's murder case, a former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of the Russian Federation, was summoned to inquiry bodies on another criminal case - on extortion 350,000 dollars from Mr Pavlyuchenkov, a witness in Politkovskaya's case.

February 25, 2009 18:00

• Azerbaijani IRFS fundraises for families of convicted journalists

  The Institute of Reporters' Freedom and Safety of (IRFS) of Azerbaijan has launched a charitable action - "Marathon" event for raising funds for the families of six convicted journalists. The action started on February 25 and will last till March 20 - Novruz holiday especially respected in Azerbaijan.

February 24, 2009 23:00

• Abkhazia accuses Georgia of trying to kidnap resident of Gali District

  Today, a Georgian diversive group of four persons tried to kidnap Irakliy Bigvava, a resident of Otobaya village, Gali District of Abkhazia. This was stated by Laurens Kogoniya, head of the Gali District Interior Department (ROVD).

February 24, 2009 22:00

• Moscow holds picket in memory of deportation victims

  Yesterday, on February 23, in Moscow, near Andrei Sakharov's Centre, at the monument to Berlin wall collapse, a picket was held in memory of the victims of Stalin's deportation of Vainakhs and other nations and in protest of current violations of human rights in Northern Caucasus.

February 24, 2009 22:00

• ICPO promises to open Anna Politkovskaya's murder

  The Investigation of the criminal case of Anna Politkovskaya's murder will continue until all the accomplices of the crime are identified, as Vladimir Markin, official spokesman of the Investigatory Committee at the Prosecutor's Office (ICPO) has promised.

February 24, 2009 21:00

• In Azerbaijan, Ombudswoman is concerned of hazing in army

  Elmira Suleimanova, Ombudswoman in Azerbaijan, has expressed her concern about the facts of hazing ("dedovschina") and other facts of non-manual relations still encountered in the Azerbaijani armed forces.

February 24, 2009 20:00

• Dagestan: editor-in-chief of "Chernovik" accused of kindling ethnic hostility

  Nadira Isaeva, editor-in-chief of the Dagestan weekly named "Chernovik" (Blueprint), was charged under Article 282 of the Criminal Code ("Kindling of ethnic, racial or religious hostility").

February 24, 2009 20:00

• Journalist complains of being pressed by Nakhichevan power agencies

  The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS) of Azerbaijan expresses its deep concern of the state of health of Idrak Abbasov, its employee and journalist-researcher, who told about physical and moral pressure on him by power agencies of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR).

February 24, 2009 19:00

• Court rejects moral compensation to Beslan victims

  Today, the Pravoberezhny Court of North Ossetia has considered the cassation complaint of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan" and again rejected the right of those who had suffered from the actions of Interior Ministries of North Ossetia and Russia to claim moral compensation.

February 24, 2009 18:00

• St-Petersburg City Court sends "Memorial" search case to reconsideration

  On February 24, the City Court of St-Petersburg satisfied the cassation presentation of the Prosecutor's Office against the decision of the Dzerzhinskiy District Court of January 20, which had concluded that the search conducted on December 4, 2008, in the office of St-Petersburg-based Scientific and Information Centre (SIC) "Memorial" was illegal, and prescribed the Prosecutor's Office to return the confiscated materials back to the SIC "Memorial".

February 23, 2009 23:00

• Teenagers wounded in South Ossetia sent to Vladikavkaz

  The teenagers who were wounded by a shell explosion in Tskhinvali are in a grave condition. They were sent to North Ossetia to get their treatment.

February 23, 2009 22:00

• Victims of Vainakhs' deportation commemorated in Russia and abroad

  On February 23, 2009, Chechens and Ingushes, as well as Russian and international community, were grieving over the 65th anniversary of deportation of Chechen and Ingush people to Middle Asia and Kazakhstan.

February 23, 2009 22:00

• Polish agents detain Umar Israilov's suspected killer

  Polish special services have detained a Chechen who is suspected of murdering, earlier in Vienna, Umar Israilov, a former security of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

February 23, 2009 21:00

• In Chechnya, unidentified person who killed three militiamen is searched

  Chechen law enforcers are actively searching an unknown man who opened fire last Saturday, on February 21, in the afternoon, three fighters of the Buryat OMON (Special Militia Unit), after which two of them died. This incident took place in Urus-Martan.