News

The Department of Constitutional Security of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia prevented an act of terror two residents of Abkhazia were going to commit upon the instructions of Russian special services, the Georgian Ministry of Interior Affairs reports.

The situation in the penal enforcement institutions of Armenia is becoming worse and the lack of space remains the major problem, human rights activist Arthur Sakunts, Head of Vanadzor office of Helsinki Civil Assembly, declares.

During his meeting with Susanna Dudieva, Chair of the "Beslan Mothers" Committee, and Elvira Tuaeva, a member of the Committee, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised to study all the materials of the case on the Beslan terror act and try to give a new impetus to investigatory procedures.

The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR) sees widespread human rights violations; most often, they are committed by power agents. This is stated in the report on the outcomes of monitoring of the human rights situation and the state with media, which was conducted during the period from September 2010 to May 2011 in the NAR, located in Azerbaijan, by regional correspondents of the Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety (IRFS).

On June 1, the Nasimi District Court of Baku, chaired by Judge Elchin Akhmedov, finished the judicial inquiry into the case of Neimat Panakhly, Chairman of the Party of National Statehood of Azerbaijan (PNSA), accused of hooliganism and causing bodily harm. The prosecutor asked to sentence the defendant to 7.5 years in prison.

Tens of thousands of residents of Abkhazia came in Sukhumi to the square in front of the State Philharmonic Society, where the coffin with the late President Sergey Bagapsh was installed. At noon, the memorial service will begin.

The Armenian Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) poses no threat to the region. The works to improve its safety have been effective; and we are satisfied with the condition of the object, said today Gabor Vamos, head of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) commission for studying the situation at the NPP.

At the travelling session of the Council under Russian President on Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, which takes place today in Makhachkala, human rights activists and prosecutors spoke about direct dependence of escalation of violence in Northern Caucasus from human rights violations and disregard of the law by law enforcers.

The Moscow Central House of Journalists has held a show of the documentary made by Eugenia Golovnya named "Yuri Schekochikhin. Once I was...". The film lasts for 38 minutes; and the author said that she has much more materials on the topic.

Makhabat Musaeva, a resident of the village of Kokrek, Khasavyurt District, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that her husband Magomed Musaev had disappeared.

The court in Vienna acknowledged Otto Kultenbrunner guilty of the murder of Umar Israilov, Ramzan Kadyrov's former security guard, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Two organizers of a hunger strike in Rostov colony were sentenced to additional custody terms. Each of them will have to serve one more year of custody.

The documentary "Barzakh" by Lithuanian producer Mantas Kvedaravichius about tortures and kidnapping in Chechnya was not only honoured by several cinema rewards but also became a discovery for many people in Europe.

On June, 1, young mothers of Volgograd held a picket demanding solution of the problem of the lack of places in kindergartens in the nearest future. The next picket will pass off today.

Chief Directorate of the Committee of Inquiry brought a charge against Rustam Makhmudov of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, observer of "Novaya Gazeta", and a number of other crimes, representative of the office Vladimir Markin reported today.

Maryat Alieva, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Adygea, was detained and accused of abusing her powers during the USE (Uniform State Exam). Opening of a criminal case is now considered.

At the travelling session of the Presidential Council on Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, which takes place today in Makhachkala, Gulnara Rustamova, co-chair of the Dagestani movement "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy), spoke about plans to establish a centre intended to help the women, whose husbands had been killed in special operations or are in prisons. Summing up the today's discussion, Mikhail Fedotov, Chairman of the above Council, said that President would need concrete measures to change the situation in the region.

On May 31, the action of united oppositional forces in defence of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, stipulating the freedom of assembly, passed without any clashes with the police; no arrests and provocations were fixed.

The Tbilisi City Court sentenced Badri Bitsadze, former head of Georgian Frontier Police, to two months of pre-trial detention. Badri is the husband of Nino Burjanadze, ex-Speaker of the Parliament and the leader of the "People's Assembly". This was reported by the press service of the oppositional association. The country's MIA has not yet confirmed this information.

Dispersal of oppositional protest in Tbilisi; amnesty announced in Armenia covering political prisoners; disaster was caused by torrential rains in Southern Russia; Russian Nogais hold their congress in Dagestan ", - look these and other events in the review of the week of May 23-29, 2011, prepared by the "Caucasian Knot".