News

The Kutaisi Regional Court has chosen a two-month pre-trial detention as the freedom restriction measure for Vano Merabishvili, Secretary General of the "United National Movement" and ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). Zurab Chiaberashvili, the former Minister of Public Health of Georgia and Governor of Kakheti, will be released on bail, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

The explosion at the bus station of Nevinnomyssk was carried out by means of an improvised explosive device (IED), delivered by the leaders of North-Caucasian militants Ali Taziev and Rustam Dzortov, the convicts on the case said today at the trial of Taziev. The actual customer of the explosion was Taziev, Ruslan Kostoev, a convict on the case, said today.

A test batch of mineral water "Borjomi" has passed the customs control, Olga Chitaya, a representative of the company "IDS Borjomi Russia", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to the Russian National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC), today, during an armed clash in the Karabudakhkent District, Magomed Abusaidov, a member of an illegal armed formation (IAF) and the leader of the Gubden grouping, was killed.

Today, the Baku Court of Grave Crimes, which is trying Hilal Mamedov, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Tolyshi Sado" (Voice of the Talysh), has began considering the defendant's charge of illegal possession and sale of drugs. The hearing was held in the open mode, unlike Mamedov's allegations of treason and inciting interethnic hatred, when the court sessions took place behind closed doors.

The workers of ferroalloy plant in the town of Zestafini, Georgia, are holding a strike demanding increase in wages and signing a trade union contract.

On May, 21, five families from area of compact settlement of refugees “Sozidanie” (“Creation”) in Promzhilbaza district of the town of Karabulak appealed to Head of Ingushetia and Public Prosecutor’s office asking to find out why they were not put on the waiting list for receiving dwelling certificates.

Builder Pavel Soloviev from Novosibirsk who reported being beaten up by the police personnel in Sochi was moved to a clinic in Novosibirsk. The physicians are currently preparing him for one more operation, Pavel’s wife Veronica Solovieva informed.

In the evening of May, 21, Prosecutor General’s office of Georgia brought charges against ex-Prime Minister, Secretary General of “United National Movement” party Vano Merabishvili and Governor of Kakhetia, ex-Minister of Public Health Zurab Chiaberashvili. Merabishvili and Chiaberashvili are accused of corruption, abuse of authority and embezzlement of state funds.

In Kutaisi, Vano Merabishvili, the former Prime Minister of Georgia and the present Secretary General of the "United National Movement" was detained after being questioned at the Prosecutor's Office of Western Georgia. Together with him, Zurab Chiaberashvili, the former Minister of Public Health, Labour and Social Welfare, was detained.

The MIA of Dagestan has received orientation attributes on the suspects of committing the terror act in Makhachkala; however, the number of suspects and their attributes are not disclosed, said a source from the Ministry.

On May 20, the group of activists defending the unloading dock in the Volgograd Region took another attempt to protect the historic structure from demolition. The opposition of the activists with people who tried to perform the demolition on that day was stopped by the police, which intend to carry out its own check. At present, the demolition of the building is suspended, the activists reports. The fate of the structure, according to Alexei Volotskov, a Deputy of the Volgograd City Duma, is currently decided by the Ministry of Sports of Russia.

Today, the North-Caucasian Regional Military Court, where Ali Taziev, a native of Ingushetia and one of the leaders of "Imarat Kavkaz", is tried, questioned six witnesses. Their testimonies referred to the explosion of a passenger bus at the bus station of Nevinnomyssk in December 2007.

This morning, in the municipality of Gamurzievo in the city of Nazran, power agents have blocked a house, where, according to their version, members of the armed underground were hiding, who opened fire in response to an offer to surrender. As a result of an armed clash two persons were killed – a wanted leader of Ingush militants Djamalele Mutaliev and a suspect of aiding militants Alikhan Ozdoev.

On May, 20, residents of the settlement of Bakurtsikhe, Gurdjaani district of Georgia, came out with an action of protest demanding from the Government compensation of the damage inflicted on the agricultural lands by natural calamity.

Founder of “Giundem Khabar” (“Daily News”) Shirin Djafari in Azerbaijan was sentenced to three years of imprisonment conditionally for accusation of nonpayment of tax, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent reports.

Relatives of resident of Buinaksk Zurabek Ashurov detained for accusation of illegal storage of arms report unlawful methods of investigation and forcing him to reject the attorneys’ aid. The investigative bodies produce no comment on the process of investigation of the case.

On May, 20, chief of a department and two experts of Mayor’s office of Batumi, Georgia, were detained by Committee of Inquiry of the Ministry of Finance for accusation of misappropriation of state funds on an especially large scale and negligence.

Start of hearing in Rostov-on-Don of the case of Ali Taziev, a leader of North-Caucasian militants; trial of officials in connection with flood in Krymsk; death in Afghanistan of three Georgian servicemen and actions in defence and against sexual minorities in Tbilisi; self-explosion of a suspected militant in Ingushetia; pupils in Chechnya get poisoned with some unknown substance, - look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of May 13-19, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot.

The Tax Inspectorate cannot claim to recover the arrears from the "Union of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)"; the decision was handed down today by the Arbitration Court of the Chechen Republic.