News

So far, the whereabouts of Magomed Magomedov, a native of Dagestan, who disappeared on April 16 in Tbilisi, is unknown. Magomedov had left Russia because of problems with law enforcers, his sister Khadizhat asserts.

The Supreme Court of Abkhazia has sentenced Djemiko Okudjava and Otari Djgarkava, two residents of the Taglan village of the pre-border Gali District to 13 and 11.5 years of imprisonment, respectively in a high security penal colony.

Today, the Moscow City Court (MCC) has sentenced Darya Botvinskaya (Tikhanova) to five years at a minimum security colony for assaulting two natives of Dagestan under the motive of ethnic hatred. During the trial, the defendant pled guilty.

Narcotic drug was found in the car of the filming group of the Public Television of Russia Nikolai Yarst and Filipp Vasilenko, who were detained in Sochi, said the spokesman of the city UVD (Interior Department).

A resident of Buynaksk Gadjimurad Ilyasov was taken away to some unknown place by armed men in masks, his wife has reported. A source from law enforcement bodies said that Ilyasov was detained and is checked for involvement of the armed underground.

In its annual report on the situation of human rights in 159 countries around the world, the Amnesty International has declared suppression of freedoms in Russia, oppression of minorities and pressure of the state on NGOs.

The oppositional "Heritage" Party has cancelled the week of rallies, announced in Liberty Square in Yerevan from May 24 to May 30, said the party spokesman Ovsep Khurshudyan.

The Zamoskvoretskiy District Court of Moscow has dismissed the claim of the International Society "Memorial" that challenged the inspection of the Society by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office.

The strike of the workers of the Zestafoni ferroalloy factory continues for the fourth day, Tamaz Doloberidze, the chairman of the Metalworkers' Union of Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. According to his story, the strikers are all the 2400 workers of the factory.

Today, the Nariman District Court in Baku has extended the term of arrest of the theologian Talekh Bagirzade until June 30. The defendant and his defence treat this decision as unreasonable and intend to appeal against it at the Court of Appeal.

At a meeting, held in Ingushetia, of Yunus-Bek Evkurov with relatives of Djamalele Mutaliev and Aliskkhan Ozdoev, who were killed yesterday in a special operation in Nazran, the latter asked the head of the republic to get the bodies for burial.

The estimate of the human rights situation in Armenia presented in the annual report of the Amnesty International reflects the today's real picture in the country, said Larissa Alaverdyan, the first Armenian Ombudsperson.

It is supposed that in the course of the special operation conducted in the Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan Magomedkhabib Aigumov was killed.

Today, the Tbilisi Deda Ena Park has hosted a protest against religious fundamentalism under the motto "No to theocracy!"; it was attended by about a thousand people. The participants signed an appeal to the President and Prime Minister of Georgia demanding to punish the perpetrators of the events of May 17.

Today, Ali Taziev, a suspect of committing an attempt on the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov and organizing terror acts, has asked the court to allow him to use his personal notes.

Nikolai Yarst and Philip Vasilenko, members of the filming crew of the Russian Public Television, have been detained today in Sochi. Agents of the UVD (Interior Department) took away from their car a parcel with some gray-green substance, presumably, narcotic drug.

A Chechen businessman Medet Unlyu, who presented himself as an Honorary Consul of the unrecognized Republic of Ichkeria in Turkey, was shot dead on May 22 inAnkara. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has denied the presence of Ichkeria's Embassy in the country.

Later this year Azerbaijani Parliament can pass the law "On Occupied Territories", Zakhid Orudj, an MP asserts. The idea of the bill, which regulates, in particular, cooperation of Azerbaijani and Armenian NGOs, was ambiguously perceived by political and public organizations both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia. However, the press service of the Azerbaijani Parliament points out that so far the bill has not been discussed by any of the committees; and consideration thereof is not planned.

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation has recognized the historical value of the ancient burials found in Derbent, and found it necessary to save and preserve the burial and memorial complex that dates back to 11th-12th centuries. The relevant opinion has been sent to the government.

The "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) has not yet provided the Georgian wine companies, who have successfully passed inspections, with the excise stamps required for trading their alcoholic beverages in Russia. According to Levan Davitashvili, the head of the Georgian National Agency for Vine and Wine (Samtrest), the excise stamps are the only obstacle for wineries to start exports of Georgian wines to Russia.