News

In spring and summer this year, natives from Chechnya have taken part in at least a dozen mass fights, which burst out in different regions of the Russian Federation; several more were prevented. Experts indicate a high level of xenophobia in the country and a low level of tolerance, including among Chechens themselves.

Photographer Mari Bastashevski, a citizen of Denmark, who is covering kidnappings in the Caucasus, was forbidden to come to Russia. According to the spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), she is on the list of persons, whose entrance to Russia is forbidden under the order of the FSB.

In Komsomolskoe village, Kizilyurt District of Dagestan, six local residents were kidnapped and taken away by armed people into some unknown place.

The citizens of Georgia, who were detained on July 18 in South Ossetia by a unit of the Frontier Department of the FSB of the Russian Federation for an attempt to cross the frontier of South Ossetia, were released with imposition of administrative fines.

Today in Moscow, at about 3:45 p.m., an aircraft that arrived to Domodedovo Airport from the city of Mineralnye Vody was hijacked. Now, the passengers are released and hijacker detained: no victims.

The number of poisoned patients after a wedding party in Verkhnyaya Dubovka village, Stavropol Territory, has reached several dozens. This was reported by the department for civil defence and emergencies of the administration of the Mikhailov Municipal District.

Zhora Sapeyan, a member of the "Republic" Party and an activist of the opposition, who was released today after 2.5 years of imprisonment, said that he would continue his struggle against the ruling clique of Armenia.

On July 27, the court session on the fact of Vaan Khalafyan's death held at the court of general jurisdiction of the Kotaik Region grew up into a fight between relatives of the casualty and of the defendants. The session was postponed till August 18.

The fact of kidnapping of Anzor Shadov, a resident of the city of Nartkala, Urvan District, is under preliminary check, as envisioned by the law, said advocate Zhamal Mokaev, who represents the interests of the Shadov family.

About a dozen of human rights organizations of Armenia have disseminated a joint statement with a concern about the state of things in Criminal Corrective Establishments (CCEs) of the country, in particular, that they are overcrowded.

In the evening on July 27, three armed persons set a restaurant on fire in Makhachkala and shot dead a visitor who tried to interfere. This was reported by the press service of the MIA of Dagestan.

The Georgian Human Rights Centre has moved accusations against President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili, who, in opinion of human rights activists, makes racist statements.

The court's refusal to apply the conditional early relief (CER) to blogger Adnan Gadjizade, imprisoned in Azerbaijan, has no lawful grounds, as Isakhan Ashurov, Adnan's advocate, told today the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Lieutenant Colonel Kamil Dzhabrailov, deputy head of the Kirov ROVD (District Interior Division) of Makhachkala, died from received wounds in hospital.

In Tbilisi, the refugees from Abkhazia who were evicted from the publishing house "Samshoblo" held a protest action at the building of the Ministry for Refugees' Matters and Accommodation, demanding housing. Should the authorities fail to solve their housing problems, they plan to refuse from their Georgian citizenship.

As reported by Khamid Tambiev, Chairman of the Magas Court, they have no statement of claim demanding to close the Internet edition "Ingushetia.Ru" (ingushetiyaru.org).

Relatives and advocate of Alaudin Nalgiev, who was detained on July 14, continue insisting that the young man is illegally kept in custody and was exposed to torture. Employees of the Ingush branch of the Human Rights Society "Memorial" sent an inquiry to prosecutor's office.

The Moscow City Court has sentenced Rasul Akhmaev, accused of complicity in the murder of Nazim Kaziakhmedov, an inspector of the General Prosecutor's Office, to 12 years of high security colony. He was found guilty of buying the firearm that was used for the murder and of participating in organization of the murder.

Mikhail Kulumbegov, a resident of Gvirgvina village, Znaur District of South Ossetia, who was kidnapped today by unidentified persons and released two hours later, asserts that "his kidnappers wanted to exchange him for a citizen of Georgia, allegedly kept by the South-Ossetian party."

The Supreme Court of the Russia Federation has satisfied the cassation complaint lodged by the Board of Elders of the Balkar People (BEBP) with a request to cancel the decision of the Supreme Court of Kabardino-Balkaria prescribing to ban the Board. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the BEBP that the Russian Supreme Court decided to stop the case.