News

A sanctioned picket of defrauded housing investors was held in front of the UVD (Interior Department) for the Tsentralny Region of Krasnodar. The action was attended by 10 people who demanded to prosecute the developers who failed to fulfil their obligations.

On June 4, the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev signed the law "On Amendments to the Criminal Code of the Azerbaijani Republic", adopted by the Parliament on May 14. The amendments criminalize defamation and insults spread through the global network. By the severity of punishments, defamation (slander) and insults on the Internet are equated to the same acts in the real world.

A Sochi court has ruled, based on the suit lodged by the city administration, to demolish a toilet and a woodshed owned by residents of an apartment block with partial amenities in Akatsij Street. According to the administration, the toilet and the shed at the house that is not connected to a central sewer and with stove heating are unauthorized structures.

The advocates who work in the regions of the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD) are facing active opposition of power and investigating bodies. This is stated in the report of the Amnesty International (AI) entitled "Face to face with injustice: threats and pressure on lawyers in Northern Caucasus".

A historical and cultural examination of the unloading dock (floating jetty), located near the farmstead of Bobry in the Volgograd Region, is over: the building should be placed under state protection.

The court hearing on the case of a tourist's death in the attraction named "Zorb" in Dombai has been rescheduled for June 17 due to the illness of the defendant's advocate, said Arthur Urusov, the spokesman of the Karachay District Court.

Today, the house inhabited by the members of the Porfiriev family in Astrakhan was disconnected from electricity grid; and then the developer cut off the gas supply, Regina Porfirieva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The court in Krasnodar has appointed a hearing for June 5, where it will consider the further freedom restriction of Mikhail Savva, whose detention expires on June 12. His wife Elena Savva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent about it. The session of the Oktiabrsky District Court of Krasnodar is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on June 5.

Today, Mekhman Zametdinov, an activist of the civil movement "Nida" (Shout), was detained by the police and subjected to administrative arrest for 10 days, said Elmin Badalov, the spokesman for the movement. The Khatain District Court has confirmed the decision to arrest Zametdinov, but did not specify what he was accused of.

Rasim Aliev and Mekhman Guseinov, the employees of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS), said that on June 3 in Baku they were exposed to policemen's pressure while covering a rally of solidarity with the ongoing demonstrations in Turkey in support of local activists. Law enforcement authorities promise to conduct an investigation.

The US State of Louisiana has passed a resolution in support of the efforts of Nagorno-Karabakh to develop as a free and independent state, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).

The refugees from Georgia living in the collective centres in Tskhinvali claim that they are forced to live in dilapidated buildings in the absence of natural gas; and these problems are addressed by nobody.

The Azeri writer Khalida Khalid and her driver and assistant Shamkhal Guseinov, released on June 3 inIran, had been held in this country for over a month in violation of the Convention on Diplomatic Service and the rights of the detainees, said Vafa Guluzade, a former state adviser on foreign policy.

The case of 16 Jehovah's Witnesses, who are tried in Taganrog since May 30, shows the absurdity of the Russian anti-extremism legislation, experts in human rights said at a press conference in Moscow.

On Monday night, an attack was committed on Irina Lukyashko, a reporter of the Internet-based medium "Yuga.ru". Two teenage girls beat the journalist and took away her bag, purse and cell phone, Irina Lukyashko herself told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Iranian authorities have released two citizens of Azerbaijan – the writer Khalida Khalid and her driver and helper Shamkhal Guseinov, who were arrested on April 30, said Elman Abdullaev, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Azerbaijan.

On Monday, the Tsentralny District Court of Sochi dismissed the petition of the investigation to change the recognizance not to leave of the journalist of the Public Television of Russia (PTR) Nikolai Yarst for custody. Instead, the court appointed a two-month home arrest.

On Monday, at the trial of the attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005, the defendant Murat Kashirgov said that several defendants had gone on hunger strike. According to Kashirgov, the protest was caused by the fact that the defendants' complaints remain within the SIZO and fail to reach the destinations.

Ilgar Mamedov, the leader of the movement "Republican Alternative" ("ReAl") has stopped the hunger strike in the penalty chamber (dungeon), said his lawyer Khalid Bagirov. The information about Mamedov's hunger strike is not true, said Mekhman Sadygov, a representative of the Penitentiary Service.

The strike held in the Batumi Port by employees of the company "Batumi International Container Terminal", who demanded higher wages and better working conditions, is over. The strikers demanded higher wage, to open a medical centre at the enterprise, and take measures to ensure labour safety.