News

On the eve of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, the authorities have intensified the campaign of outright harassment and intimidation of ecologists and civil activists. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has failed to object to the measures taken by Russian authorities to silence their critics, says the international Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Unidentified persons made a shot from a grenade launcher at the entertainment centre "Golden Empire", which is housing a hotel and a restaurant; ten minutes later an explosion occurred at the building. According to preliminary data, there are no victims, a source from the Dagestani Ministry of Internal Affairs told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Activists of the local branch of the movement "Suts Vremeni" (Essence of Time) are going to hold a picket in Rostov-on-Don against the removal of the monument to Karl Marx and collect at least 300 signatures to the petition addressed to the Governor of the Rostov Region, Maxim Goncharov, the press secretary of the movement, has reported.

In Armenia, Inessa Petrosyan, the advocate of Shant Harutyunyan, the leader of the "Tsegakron" Party, who was detained during the "Million Mask March", has petitioned the General Prosecutor's Office with her challenge of the investigative group and its head Samvel Tonoyan. The petition should be considered before January 19.

The respective power bodies of Chechnya possess records of telephone conversations, where militants talk about Dokku (Doku) Umarov's death, said a source from law enforcement bodies of the republic. However, according to Sergey Goncharov, the President of the Association of Veterans of "Alpha" Anti-Terror Unit, such a talk is not a proof of the fact of the death.

The Novocherkassk City Court has extended till January 27 the time allocated for examining the documents on recognition of the public organization named the "Union of Don Women" as a foreign agent, said Valentina Cherevatenko, the leader of the Union.

Six persons who committed a murder in Rostov-on-Don on the motives of national hatred have been sentenced to various terms in prison by the North-Caucasian District Military Court.

At least 267 people suffered in the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus in the fourth quarter of 2013; of them, 152 people were killed and at least 115 people were wounded. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from open sources.

The march in memory of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova, scheduled for January 19, has been sanctioned by the Moscow Mayoralty, said Lev Ponomaryov, one of the organizers of the march and the leader of the movement "For Human Rights". According to his story, the city authorities agreed on the route proposed in the application, provided the transition from one boulevard to another will take place without using the symbols.

The Nalchik City Court has found a local resident guilty of publicly calling to extremist actions and fined him by 300,000 roubles. As reported by the press service of the Prosecutor's Office of Kabardino-Balkaria, a man named Mottaev was found guilty; however, no more details about this person were disclosed.

Three natives of Ingushetia have been detained by policemen in Rostov-on-Don. Their relatives have learned that the detainees are suspected of intending to commit a terror act. A brother of one of them has turned to human rights organizations and the Public Oversight Commission of the Rostov Region with a request to prevent the torture of the detainees.

Aisha Selimkhanova, the spokesperson for the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), said that she fears for her life after a visit to the DRPO's office of unidentified persons who asked about her work schedule.

Russian and foreign winter sport fans have already bought out more than 70% of the tickets for the competitions of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, said Dmitry Chernyshenko, the President of the Organizing Committee "Sochi-2014". Most of them were sold through the Internet.

The Olympic Torch Relay in North Ossetia has been shortened for safety reasons and will be held on January 30 at the "Spartak" Stadium in Vladikavkaz, said the Ministry of Youth Matters, Physical Culture and Sports of North Ossetia.

According to recent data released by the Ministry of Public Health of Russia, hospitals of Volgograd and Moscow are still treating 38 victims of the terror acts.

In Dagestan on Thursday, the legal regime of counterterrorist operation (CTO) in the 20-kilometre band on the administrative border with the Stavropol Territory and in the Tarum District, the republic's operative headquarters has reported.

The reasons for refusal and future actions of the organizers will be announced at a press conference to be held on January 17 by the organizing committee, Abakar Abakarov, one of the organizers of the event, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

At the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, medical support will be provided by nearly 1300 health professionals from Moscow, Republic of Tatarstan and Krasnodar territorial medical institutions. This was reported by the Ministry of Public Health for the Krasnodar Territory. Doctors are ready to render medical assistance at 39 centres located at 18 Olympic venues.

In Chechnya, local residents report that within recent days, law enforcers regularly detain in the streets and interrogate young people as suspected followers of radical Islam. According to the local residents, the law enforcers persecuted men wearing beards and women in hijabs. Officials from the law enforcement bodies explain the situation by taking preventive measures.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Plamen Oresharski, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, have confirmed their intention to come to Sochi to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games. The Bulgarian National TV Company is preparing to a large-scale coverage of the 2014 Olympic Games.