News

Today the Supreme Court of Russia mitigated the sentence to six natives of Ingushetia, defendants on the case of blasting “Nevsky express” by changing their penalty from serving it in a strict regime colony to a general regime one. In this way, judicial division for criminal cases granted the claims of the defendants’ attorneys in part.

Resident of Derbent Alibek Mirzehanov who reported his kidnapping and torture by the personnel of law enforcement bodies fears for his life and does not spend the nights at home. For three weeks investigative bodies and Public Prosecutor’s office have ignored his statement, “Memorial” human rights center reports.

Gerard Depardieu is going to shoot a “Big Film” about reconstruction of Grozny. The French actor reported it himself on coming to the capital of Chechnya for a visit.

The incumbent President, Leader of the ruling Republican party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan won the first round of the presidential election, CEC of Armenia announced today during its session on summing-up the totals of the election of February, 18. According to the final calculation, 861 373 voters, i.e. 58,64% of the electorate, voted for Sargsyan.

Today Tbilisi city court refused to specify the form of preventive punishment to Mayor of the city Gigi Ugulava accused of misappropriation of alien property and money laundering.

The term of nomination on the contest for a seat of Head of Administration of Cherkessk ended today. There are four nominees, among them Ruslan Tambiev who earlier abdicated Mayor’s responsibility.

A protest action of Akki Chechens who demand to return them the lands of Novolaksky district is going on. The action of protest is going round-the-clock, its participants told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Presidential election in Armenia, won by Serzh Sargsyan; resignation of government heads of the Stavropol Territory and Volgograd Region; exit of the "Anji" FC from Dagestan to the 1/8-final of Europa League and its victory in the Premium "National Football Olympus"; arrest in absentia by Moscow court of the Georgian MP Givi Targamadze; deprivation of Oleg Mikheev, MP from Volgograd, of his Deputy's immunity, – look these and other events in the Caucasus in the review of the week of February 18-24, 2013, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".

Today Head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Evkurov appointed a new Minister of Finance of the republic. It is Magomed-Bashir Aushev aged 44.

During a session of PACE President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili accused Russia of “imperial ambitions”. In their turn, the delegation of the Russian Federation suggested the Assembly to investigate violations of human rights in Georgia during the period of Mikhail Saakashvili’s presidency.

State Duma adopted in the first reading a draft law allowing the regions to determine the order of election of the governors independently.

Upon the results of a discussion in Strasbourg PACE adopted a resolution today in which it spoke for the presence of Monitoring mission of EU in the zone of the conflict between Russia and Georgia that took place in August of 2008.

A report of international human rights organization Freedom House “Freedom in the World-2012” in which South Ossetia was leveled among the category of “restricted states” and got a low rating did not undergo pointed criticism from the authorities of South Ossetia.

Head of Kabardino-Balkaria Arsen Kanokov ordered to withdraw his order on rent of an armoured VIP-car for the government of the region, a source in the republican Administration reported.

Today ex-Head of the Department of Constitutional security of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia Levan Kardava was released on bail of 30 thousand lari (about 18 thousand dollars).

The Georgian opposition party "United National Movement" (UNM) has announced its intention to hold a large-scale rally on April 19 in central Tbilisi with a demand "not to change the pro-Western policy of the state."

The Mayoralty of the capital of Armenia has rejected the application submitted by Armen Martirosyan, a representative of the leader of the "Heritage" Party Raffi Ovannisyan, on holding rallies on February 23-25 in Freedom Square.

The decision of the Basmanny Court of Moscow to arrest the Georgia's MP Givi Targamadze in absentia has been directed to the police in order to organize his international search, said Vladimir Markin, the spokesman of the Investigating Committee of the Russian Federation (ICRF).

The criminal case initiated on disappearance in North Ossetia of Akhmed Buzurtanov, a coach of the Ingush Sports Club "Kaloy", is not investigated, relatives of the missing person assert.

In front of the office of the observation mission of the ODIHR/OSCE in Yerevan, a collision occurred between the police and supporters of Raffi Ovannisyan, an ex-candidate at the presidential election in Armenia, the leader of the oppositional "Heritage" Party.