News

Protests of residents of the Georgian village of Ditsi forced Russian border guards to suspend works on the demarcation of the border between Georgia and South Ossetia.

Members of the opposition claim violations have been committed during the voting at the elections of heads of cities and regions in Dagestan and North Ossetia held on September 8.

After a report that a bomb was planted in one of the two secondary schools located in the villages of Dvabzu and Gagma Dvabzu of the Ozurgeti District of Georgia, all students, teachers and other staff members were evacuated from educational institutions. The verification revealed that the anonymous information was false.

At the court session held at the Moscow City Court on the case of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya, Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov has identified defendant Rustam Makhmudov on the video record that shot the alleged murderer of Anna Politkovskaya.

Demolition of houses of militants' relatives is voluntarism, as the right to private property is protected by the Constitution of Russia, said lawyers and human rights activists in their comments on the decision of the head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov and the republic's authorities to demolish the "houses of the families who had sheltered bandits."

The Kizlyar City Court has begun the trial on the conflict that happened in April between the police and members of a wedding convoy.

The Sabail District Court has decided to arrest the journalist Parviz Gashimli, detained on suspicion of smuggling and possession of firearms, for two months. The "Bizim Yol" issue of September 18 posted a short statement, where the authors called on the international community and human rights organizations not to stay indifferent to the arrest of Parviz Gashimli.

A former policeman Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, already sentenced to 11 years in prison for organizing the murder of the observer of the "Novaya Gazeta" Anna Politkovskaya, has revealed at the Moscow City Court the roles of other defendants in organizing the murder.

Saidpasha Musaev and Magaram Aliev, residents of the village of Manas, Karabudakhkent District of Dagestan, detained on suspicion of illegal firearms possession, have been arrested by the court for two months.

The operation to search for members of the armed underground, which is carried out in the Sunzha District of Chechnya starting from September 16, has not yet succeeded. This was reported by a representative of the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Armenia's accession to the Customs Union is the sole decision of President Serzh Sargsyan. The reason for the accession and the expected result are not clear to the public, since all information about the Customs Union and the association agreement with the European Union is closed. This is stated by representatives of the opposition parties of the country.

The Parliament of Georgia has initiated the legislative initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs toughening the law on penalty for false calls about explosive devices at different objects. The Parliament plans to consider the draft law at accelerated rate and can adopt it in the final third reading this week.

On September 23, the verdict in the case against Vladislav Zhuravlyov, ex-Deputy Mayor of Novocherkassk, accused "of inciting hatred and hostility", is to be pronounced. At the court session held on September 17, the court listened to the final speech of the defendant.

Three policemen, who were wounded as a result of the explosion of a car in the Sunzha District of Ingushetia, were brought by a special aircraft to the Moscow hospital of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs . The state of two policemen is assessed by doctors as moderate, and one policeman is in serious condition.

At the trial on the case of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya held at the Moscow City Court, Oksana, the wife of Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov, who was sentenced in a special manner, refused to testify. The jury considered her testimony given during the preliminary investigation.

Today, Parviz Gashimli, an employee of the independent newspaper "Bizim Yol" (Our Way) and the director of the website moderator.az, was detained in Azerbaijan on suspicion of contraband and illegal possession of firearms. The journalist denies any wrongdoing.

A clash between locals and Russian border guards who are installing barbed wire happened near the Georgian village of Ditsi, Zakaria Vatikadze, the attorney of the Ditsi territorial body, said today.

Members of the Dagestan Branch of the Communist Party have addressed the head of the republic Ramazan Abdulatipov, the republic's Central Election Commission and the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan stating mass violations during the elections of deputies to the City Assembly of Derbent.

Investigators in Dagestan have decided to re-qualify the criminal case opened on the fact of threats addressed to the lawyers Magomedova and Suslanov, said the lawyer Sapiyat Magomedova.

Today, the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria has extended the detention of 53 defendants-figurants in the case of the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, for three months more – until December 26. The four defendants, earlier released on recognizance not to leave, will remain in the same status.