News

Employees of the National Anti-Terror Committee (NAC) have detained members of a criminal grouping, who planned a series of terror acts in the Astrakhan Region. The Committee reports that the detained possible organizer of the planned diversions was involved in attacks on militiamen in Astrakhan in July and August this year.

The judicial panel of the court held a closed session to consider the cassation appeals lodged by the defence and Yuri Babkin, former teacher and deputy of the city soviet, who was convicted on charges of paedophilia to 15 years in a high security colony.

On October 17-27, the district, which is bordering on Georgia, will host a humanitarian action "Mutual Aid. Partnership. Safety", when Russian doctors will render free medical care to local residents.

The "Wikimedia", which oversees the Russian-language section of the online library "Wikipedia", can be charged with extremism for placing the appeal of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan": "To everyone sympathizing the victims of Beslan terror act!", which is on the federal list of extremist materials.

The law enforcement bodies of Chechnya are still unable to specify exactly how many militants took part in today's morning attack on the Republic's Parliament in Grozny: figures from three to five are named. The number of militia patrols in streets of Chechen capital has increased significantly. Militaries and militiamen are on duty near schools. Some parents preferred to keep their children at home today.

On October 9, Dokku Umarov, leader of North-Caucasian militants, disbanded two fronts in Chechnya and announced reshuffling in "Imarat Kavkaz". It has become known from the video clips placed on the Internet, in which Umarov refutes allegations of Chechen field commanders on the reasons, which forced them to refuse from their oath to him.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Chechnya has reported that the militants who attacked this morning the Parliament building in Grozny, were members of the illegal armed formation (IAF) commanded by Hussein Gakaev, who has organized this action in order to kill Chechen MPs and become famous. However, so far, none of the militants has taken responsibility for the attack.

As reported by Marina Gridneva, spokesperson of the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) of Russia, Ahmed Zakaev, former head of the government of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI), was announced into international search again. The Yessentuki City Court, the Stavropol Territory, has arrested Zakaev in absentia.

In Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, participants of a today's six-hour-long picket in support of political prisoners and democracy, held in parallel with the Council of Europe's forum "In the Name of Democracy", believe that it is not reasonable to hold such events in a country, which has political prisoners and failed to properly investigate the events of March 1, 2008.

Einulla Fatullayev, a journalist serving in a penitentiary is starting an open-ended hunger strike on October, 19, demanding execution of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on his immediate release by the authorities of Azerbaijan.

During a meeting in Ingushetia at the crossroads of a federal highway and a road in the direction of the town of Magas, a car with Moscow reporters of "Partner Plus" press agency, while they were taking photos of the action, was fired upon by members of the top brass, Elena Sevriukova, leader of the agency, reported.

According to a report of District Department of Interior Affairs, last night unidentified people in the town of Kizil-Yurt (Dagestan) shot down the Director of children's inter-district rehabilitation center and his companion.

October 18 is celebrated in Azerbaijan as the Day of State Independence. On this day in 1991, the Azerbaijani parliament adopted the Constitutional Act on restoration of independence of Azerbaijan.

The voluntary people's guards will take their 3-month courses on the basis of the "Taktika" Training Centre. This time will be spent in mastering the basics of security, unarmed combat, shooting, medical help, as well as evacuation at emergencies such as natural disasters or terror acts.

The authorities of the Tuapse District, Krasnodar Territory, which was affected by severe flooding on October 16, are calculating the caused damage. According to preliminary data, it will be in hundreds of millions roubles. Residents of the district have already begun rebuilding their homes. However, the local Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) has announced a new emergency warning about possible new emergencies.

Advocates of those defendants who were sentenced today on charges of murdering Hero of Russia Ruslan Yamadaev, a former State Duma Deputy, plan to file, within their legitimate 10 days, an appeal against the verdict. They assert that witnesses' evidences were unreliable, and the case materials were falsified.

Magomed Gagiev, brother of Dzhamaleil Gagiev, who disappeared in Ingushetia on October 14, said that at that point of time the rally of the members of the victim's clan was suspended, while Magomed himself was summoned to the Investigatory Committee, where he hoped to get information about the fate of his brother, because the family did not exclude that he could be detained by special agencies.

Aza Yandieva, advocate of the ten residents of the Ingush village of Ekazhevo, accused of blowing the "Neva-Express" trains in 2007 and 2009, arrived in Moscow to meet her clients. In her view, the new allegations against them are ungrounded.

Today, residents of North Ossetia mark 40 days after the date of the terror act committed on September 9 at the central marketplace in Vladikavkaz. From early morning, the venue is attended by people, who bring flowers, candles and portraits of the dead.

Rashid Mamedov, a resident of Dagestan, who in 2007 in Moscow killed, according to investigators, senior inspector for especially important cases of the Prosecutor's Office of Dagestan Nazim Kaziahmedov, said today at the Moscow City Court that he has fully admitted his guilt. The second defendant, Karen Aslanov, accused of complicity, said that he had not taken any part in the murder.