News

It was decided to demolish a small mosque in Kadyrov Avenue in the Chechen capital, where broad-scale repair and construction works are on for several weeks already. According to the authorities, "it does not match the architectural appearance of the avenue," which awaits a radical reconstruction. A local clergyman treats the demolition of the mosque as sacrilege.

The niche of independent journalism in Azerbaijan is almost completely destroyed; the country has big problems with the freedom of speech; however, readers want restoration of independent newspapers and continuation of the previous political course. This was stated by Einullah Fatullaev, a former political prisoner and editor-in-chief of the newspapers "Real Azerbaijan" and "Gyundelik Azerbaijan", who had spent his last 4 years in prison and was released on May 26. Therefore, he intends to continue publishing his newspapers.

Gadjimagomed Makhmudov, a resident of the township of Novy Khushet, Lenin District of Makhachkala, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that in the morning on June 11 many township houses were searched; Ramil Magomedov and Akhmed Omarov were detained.

Abusupyan Gaitaev, advocate of the blogger Alexei Dudko, intends to file a cassation complaint against the sentence passed by Judge Natalia Larina from the Taganka District Court of Moscow, which awarded Dudko with 6 years in a minimum security colony.

In the Canadian city of Toronto, eight Armenians began their 72-hour-long hunger strike, saying that they protest against denial by Turkey of Armenian Genocide.

The assassination of former colonel Yuri Budanov has nothing to do with the death of Elza Kungaeva, which caused Budanov's conviction in 2003, as Visa Kungaev, the girl's father, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by telephone from Norway.

On June 10, at the headquarters of the oppositional "Musavat" Party, the diplomatic corps and heads of the international organizations deployed in Azerbaijan held a meeting with activists of the oppositional Civil Movement for Democracy "Public Chamber" (CMDPC).

Vengeance and provocation are named among the versions of the murder of former Colonel Yuri Budanov, who was convicted back in 2003 for murdering a Chechen girl. Meanwhile, the Moscow police is taking steps to curb possible attempts of nationalist-minded groups to use the murder for their own benefits, said a source from local law enforcement bodies.

Eighty residents of the village Boiko-Ponura, Kalinin District of the Krasnodar Territory, went on hunger strike, said Alexei Volchenko, a farmer. However, the district administration does not confirm this information.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (ANPP) is obsolete; while its equipment and location are a potential hazard. The conclusions of the commission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the safety of the ANPP are just a formal assessment. This statement was made today by Akop Sanasaryan, Chairman of the Union of Greens.

Today, the Taganka District Court has announced the verdict to blogger Alexei Dudko. Judge Natalia Larina found him guilty on all points; while his evidences were treated as unjustified and unconfirmed.

Five law enforcers from the Volgograd Region are accused of inflicting bodily harm to detainees with the aim to obtain their confessions. The case has been forwarded to the court, the press service of the regional prosecutor's office reports.

Blogger Boris Sarakuev, a resident of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), who has posted a video on the Internet about corruption in the State Department of the Russian Pension Fund for the KBR, receives demands to remove the video, accompanied by threats of execution. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by Sarakuev himself.

On June, 9, the Appelate court of Armenia on civil cases rejected the complaint of "Aikakan Zhamanak" newspaper. It brought a standing judgment on the verdict of the court of general jurisdiction. The newspaper will have to offset harm to three deputies of the ruling Republican party of Armenia.

A video web conference Moscow - Kazan: "Murder of Maksud Sadykov: will the murderers be found?" passed off on June, 9, in RIA "Novosti", Moscow. The participants honoured the victim's memory and discussed possible reasons for the attempt at the scientist.

A press conference of members of a workgroup of the Public Chamber for the affairs of the Caucasus "From Nalchik to Vladikavkaz: a border between justice and reality" was held on June, 8, in the Press center of RIA "Novosti". Human rights activists and journalists spoke about violations of the rights of members of Moslem community detained in Vladikavkaz.

A resident of Makhachkala who works as a lawyer submitted a statement to the standby unit of the Department of Interior Affairs of the town reporting that at night of June, 9, three unknown persons inflicted injuries on him and tried to kidnap him, Press service of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Dagestan reported.

During nine month of litigation, the guilt of Oleg Orlov, head of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", accused of libel against the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov, was never proved; and an acquittal could stop "abuses of the prosecutor's office," said Genry Reznik, Orlov's advocate, at the debate session on June 9.

By this August all the penal colonies of the Krasnodar Territory will open special rooms, where prisoners will be able to express their complaints and wishes to prison bosses, said Yuri Kulik, the head of the Russian UFSIN for the region.

Today, Sargis Atspanyan, an active opposition figure, a French citizen and a veteran of the Karabakh War, was released from the penal institution "Vardashen" in Armenia.