News

According to Bakanai Guseinova, advocate of Makhmud Akhmedov, 14, a resident of Dagestan, who was beaten by militiamen on July 20, 2010, now an additional check is underway. According to her story, the case, which had been virtually investigated, was suddenly requested by the Republic's Prosecutor's Office.

In the evening on February 24, unidentified persons kidnapped Shamil Sultanov, head of the division for taxation of individuals of the Department for Untsukul District of the Department of the Federal Tax Service (DFTS). This was reported by the Untsukul ROVD (District Interior Division).

As stated by the spokesman of the Russian FSB, the information about ten victims of shelling of the FSB sanatorium in Nalchik is not true.

By decision of the court, Vladimir Galda, Head of the Logistics Centre of the GUVD (Chief Interior Department) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Russia for the North-Caucasian Federal District (NCFD), was put into custody as a suspect of taking a bribe of 1.2 million roubles.

As stated by Tamara Magmadova, mother of Apti Magmadov and Aishat Magmadova, in her conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the inquiry and trial on her children's case are held with numerous violations.

Military actions in Northern Caucasus move more and more from Chechnya and Ingushetia to other republics of the South of Russia. There are no grounds to speak about aggravation of the situation in Northern Caucasus in general, since Chechnya and Ingushetia demonstrate positive dynamics in the count of military incidents, while in 2010 the situation in Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria became much worse.

As stated by a woman-participant of the action, the jogging session "For Healthy Lifestyle" held in the Izmailovo Park had no nationalistic or political context.

Mother of Aslan Cherkesov, the main suspect of murdering Yegor Sviridov, is furious that her son, who is kept in the SIZO (pre-trial prison) "Matrosskaya Tishina" (meaning "Sailors' Silence") was awarded a "yellow mark". The bosses of the facility give no explanation on why the mark appeared in Cherkesov's personal file.

The criminal investigation into the terror act committed in September 2004 in Beslan School in North Ossetia has been once again extended by three months. Elvira Tuaeva, one of the victims, told about it to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The democratic society of Azerbaijan is deeply disappointed by the decision of the BBC Corporation to stop broadcasting in the Azeri language and to switchover the work of the service, along with some other groups, into the format of Internet resource. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told about it by politicians, human rights activists and public figures of the country. They call the corporation to continue broadcasting in the Azeri language.

Lawyer Kestutis Stungys, who is in charge of the defence of Egle Kusaite, accused of preparing terror act in Russia, expressed doubts on whether his client would be able to go to Russia to evidence on the case of natives of Chechnya Apti and Aishat Magmadova, accused of having recruited Kusaite for committing a terror act.

At the trial, the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has demanded a total of 15 years in prison for the son of the first Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia - Tsotne, claiming to add seven years more to the existing eight-year sentence on the basis of accusations of an attempt to bribe an employee of the prison hospital with 274 US dollars.

Today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia has disseminated an official statement, saying that the attack on the "Imedi" TV Company, when explosive devices were neutralized next to the building of the Company, had been prepared under instruction of the Russian military officer Evgeniy Borisov and a Georgian citizen Murman Tskhadaya.

Within a week, on February 14-20, the glowing armed conflict in Northern Caucasus took away at least 22 lives; at least 39 persons were injured. These are the results of calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

Today, Rashid Nurgaliev, Head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), personally decorated retired Lieutenant-General of Militia Sergey Kucheruk with the Degree-2 "Medal for Management Merits". Kucheruk was sacked after the massacre in the village of Kuschevskaya, Krasnodar Territory.

The names of the new women's NGOs are the "Women's Solidarity" Centre for Social Development, and the "Women's Initiative" Centre for Social Programmes.

On February 20, a culture festival of Caucasian nations, organized by the Russian Congress of Caucasian Nations (RCCN) with support of the Government of Moscow was held in the concert hall of the Metropolitan Hotel "Cosmos".

The decision of the Parliament of Georgia to send eleven artillery officers to Afghanistan as instructors for local servicemen has caused protest of the Labour Party, which believes that Georgian troops should not serve there. Meanwhile, Tengiz Gogotishvili, head of the NATO Information Centre in Georgia, is strongly objecting and states that Georgia is interested in Afghanistan's stabilization.

As of February 23, 25 persons died from flu in Georgia, as reported the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Most of them died from H1N1 virus.

The Astrakhan independent journalist Oleg Teplischev has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that he possesses plenty of documents confirming involvement of the Astrakhan Mayor Sergey Bozhenov in seizure of land plots and further awarding them to his relatives. Valentin Bogdan, lawyer of the movement "For Human Rights", talks about a possible links between the incident with Deputy Shabanov and the journalist's investigation. Bozhenov has not yet commented Teplischev's statements, while Shabanov insists that it was the journalist who had attacked him.