News

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.

In Ingushetia, where today they commemorate victims of the total deportation of Ingush nationals to Middle Asia and Kazakhstan in 1944; several hundreds of persons took part in a nationwide rally that took place near the Memorial Complex to Victims of Political Repressions.

About 200 citizens of the republic, mainly Maikop residents, gathered to hold a rally in the central square of the city.

A new website named "Never-to-be-forgotten" appeared on the Internet; its topics are the issues relating to Stalin's deportation. The site was launched by the Archive Department of the Chechen Government and the Committee on Youth Matters with the support of the republic's parliament. It took them about four months to start a new web portal; and its database already keeps 60,000 deportees' personal files.

On February 22, the Lefortovo District Court held a session on the case of Issa Khashagulgov. Judge Alexander Rybak extended his custody till May 25, 2011. The prosecution believes that Khashagulgov was involved in the terror act in Vladikavkaz in September 2010; his relatives insist on his innocence.

According to unofficial sources, several dozens of young men have organized a march today in the afternoon in the Izmailovo Park and shouted nationalist slogans. The militia has not confirmed this information yet.

At midday on February 23, the "Russian March", sanctioned by the authorities, started from the House of Culture "Metroelectrotrans" in Volgograd. The main slogan of Volgograd nationalists was: "Down with Corruption and Russophobia in Governmental Bodies!"

Five law enforcers received gunshot wounds of varying gravity in the course of a clash with suspected militants in Kabardino-Balkaria.

According to General James Clapper, Director of the US National Intelligence Service, the latest steps of the official Tbilisi towards the nations of Northern Caucasus is a factor that could increase the tension in the region.