News

Activists of the public movement "Volgograd Parents for Children's Rights" have sent an appeal to 48 deputies of the Volgograd City Duma, claiming the catastrophic situation in kindergartens.

Radjab Mustafaev, who was killed in the village of Semender on September 2, was not a member of an illegal armed formation (IAF). However, investigators refuse to give out his body for burial, the mother of the deceased man states.

Dagestani journalists support the demand expressed by the international human rights organization "Article 19", which calls on the authorities of the Russian Federation to resume the investigation into the murder of Akhmednabi Akhmednabiev, a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

A picket in support of Evgeny Vitishko, a convicted member of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), was held by members of the "Yabloko" Party within the "Week of Actions". According to the party's plan, during a week, in several Russian cities, including Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Krasnodar, "Yabloko" activists and other supporters of Vitishko held rallies and solo pickets demanding Vitishko's immediate release.

Musanip Ramazanov has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that his son Zarkipli Ramazanov was kidnapped in Makhachkala by some strangers. The father has turned to the Dagestani Regional Public Organization (DRPO) "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy) for help, stating that the kidnapping took place in Dzerzhinsky Street, near the place where Zarkipli works.

As reported by Vladimir Postanyuk, an advocate of Said Amirov, the dismissed Mayor of Makhachkala, who was convicted for plotting a terror act, a complaint against Amirov's verdict will be lodged to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

On September 14, in Chechnya, observers from the Association "Golos" (Vote) were not removed from polling stations, as it was allegedly prescribed by the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) in the document, a photocopy of which was posted in the Internet, the Republic's Prosecutor's Office said today.

500 young men from Chechnya are expected to be called to military service in the Russian Army. The Chechen authorities do not rule out that the number of recruits will grow over the years.

According to local residents, the situation in the Untsukul District of Dagestan is quiet; however, the closure of the Gimry Tunnel by law enforcers in the search for militants creates great inconvenience for residents of the Untsukul District.

Members of the opposition parties report on a large number of violations in connection with the early voting committed in the course of the elections to the Elista City Council held on September 14.

In Sochi, participants of public hearings speak against the proposal to withdraw the status of protected areas from 28 natural monuments. It was stated at the hearing that the Sochi natural monuments were subjected to deliberate destruction.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a native of Chechnya, suspected of involvement in the terror act in Boston, is to appear at the trial, the prosecutor has states. The victims of the terror act supported the request of the Prosecutor's Office.

The attack on the filming crew of the BBC in Astrakhan was a pre-planned action and had to do with the fact that the journalists were investigating reports about deaths of Russian servicemen in the area of the Russian-Ukrainian border, the BBC reports. Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on the Freedom of the Media, has urged the Russian authorities to ensure a transparent investigation into the incident.

Gayirbi Gayirbiev, a member of a precinct election commission (PEC) has addressed the bosses of law enforcement bodies of Dagestan and Russia with a demand to prosecute the policemen of the Levashin District of Dagestan, who detained him when he tried to prevent a voting fraud at the polling station.

The European Parliament has disseminated an appeal addressed to Azerbaijani authorities urging to immediately release Arif and Leyla Yunus, Rasul Jafarov, Intigam Aliev and Gasan Guseinli. The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that all the above activists of Azerbaijani human rights organizations have been criminally prosecuted.

The Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation has upheld the verdict of the North-Caucasian District Military Court passed to the dismissed Mayor of Makhachkala Said Amirov, who was convicted on charges of plotting a terror act.

The European Court of Human Rights has pronounced its decision in the case of "Makaeva vs. Russia". In Russia, the case was investigated by Natalia Estemirova and Akhmed Gisaev, employees of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". Aima Makaeva, a resident of Grozny, the applicant in the case, filed a complaint about kidnapping of her son Apti Zainalov by law enforcers. The ECtHR has found out that the kidnappers were state agents. Furthermore, the ECtHR has found violations of the applicant's rights and awarded the mother of the kidnapped man a compensation of 60,000 euros.

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has pronounced the decision in the case of the disappearance of 16 residents of Chechnya in 2001-2006. The ECtHR has found Russia guilty of human rights violations and obliged the country to pay more than one million euros of compensation to 43 applicants residing in Chechnya.

On September 17, in Krasnodar, Dmitry Shevchenko, the deputy coordinator of the "Ecological Watch for Northern Caucasus" (EcoWatch), was attacked while he was filming the process of tree pruning in the course of the reconstruction works conducted in the Friendship Park. An unidentified man, who led the works, knocked out a video camera from the activist's hands, the website of the "EcoWatch" reports.

In central Grozny, law enforcers drove a young woman dressed in Muslim clothing away to some unknown place. Eyewitnesses of the incident are not aware of her further fate. They believe the young woman was kidnapped. Officials from the law enforcement bodies refused to comment on the information.