News

The Kirov District Court of Astrakhan has restored Nadezhda Gogoleva, Director of School No. 74 and a member of the Territorial Election Commission (TEC) with a decisive vote from the "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia), in her position. Her employers could not cite any reason at the trial, why the woman had been fired.

In Baku, a gas explosion took place in a school; one pupil suffered burns.

The investigatory division for the city of Nalchik is conducting a pre-investigation check of the fact of poisoning of 48 students and teachers of the Kabardino-Balkar State Agricultural Academy (KBSACA). A service check will be also held with respect to the doctors of the Urvan District Hospital, where a poisoned girl had died.

Armen Martirosyan, a resident of the city of Gadruta, was killed in an explosion in the boiler house; another victim was hospitalized.

Georgia has finalized the annual festival of avant-garde art "Artisterium", which was attended by 74 artists from around the world.

Today, the Supreme Court (SC) of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR), chaired by Judge Fakhraddin Mamedov, dismissed the appeal complaint lodged by Khyakimeldost Mekhtiev, a regional correspondent of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

In Azerbaijan, the Media Rights Institute (MRI) is preparing a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the context of the failure of the authorities to disclose documents about the impact of the Gabala-based Radar Station (RS) "Daryal" on the environment, said Khalid Agaliev, an employee of the MRI. The monitoring sessions conducted five years ago showed that the radiation background around the RS was normal; however, experts believe that the studies should be continued.

Ecologists and activists of Novorossiysk community gained the object of decision of resettling tenants of the houses located near the black oil terminal. This was the major achievement as a result of public hearings on construction problems which passed off in the city.

On November, 10, a trial under the chairmanship of judge Faik Gasymov was held in the Appelate Court of Baku on the case on Avaz Zeinalov, Editor-in-Chief of "Khural" newspaper. His new appeal was not granted.

On November, 10, workers in Baku started pulling down the third floor of a house in Mirzag Aliev street while the tenants of the two floors below had not yet moved out. A grave situation emerged in the lower floors, besides, electricity, gas and water supply were shut off there.

In connection with the death of three soldiers of Azerbaijani army caused by a disease Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan signed an order of punishment of 19 officers.

Gela Mtivlishvili, the head of the independent agency "Kakheti Information Centre" filed a complaint to the Georgian Prosecutor's Office against the threatening letters, which he received on his email in the name of Levan Sachishvili, ex-Prosecutor of Kakheti.

Activists of the organization "Service to Protect Citizens' Rights and Interests" have loaded to the Internet audio recordings in which Anatoly Pakhomov, Mayor of Sochi, his Deputy Nikolai Ermolov, the entrepreneur Viktor Teplyakov, the coordinator of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party, and officers from the Division "E" of the UVD (Interior Department) talked to human rights defenders on the eve of their action and used threats. Anatoly Pakhomov himself believes that the story with audio recordings on the Internet can be a provocation against him.

Police officers of Rostov Region have detained a CEO of a managing company in the city of Novocherkassk on suspicion of fraud with utilities payments for the amount of 13.5 million roubles.

Today, in the centre of Yerevan activists of the oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) held a demonstration and a flash mob dated to the celebration of World Youth Day.

According to local residents, several firms in Chechnya have been ordered to cover heads of women on billboards.

On November 10, at the Rostov Regional Court the lawyer of Pavel Efremov, the defendant in the case of terrorism, claimed violation of rights for defence and poor conditions of detention of the defendant in SIZO (pre-trial prison).

Today, the court continues to listen to the victims on the case of attack on Nalchik on October 13, 2005. The victims testify on the episode of attack on the regiment of the patrol-and-post service (PPS). In particular, Lera Erizhokova talked about how her house burned down and how her son-in-law was detained.

Maxim Slipchenko, an activist of the movement "Left-Wing Front", detained in Rostov-on-Don, who on November 7 went on a hunger strike at the police station, has been released.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) upheld the complaint filed by the Chechen woman-resident Gizhan Sambieva, the mother of Said-Emin Sambiev, who had been kidnapped and murdered in 2003. The ECtHR has obliged the Russian Federation to pay her compensation.