News

Representatives of Yamadaev's clan hope that the trial on the case of murder of Ruslan Yamadaev, former RF State Duma member, which started today in Moscow, will be "fair and open". At the same time, they express bewilderment that the court ostensibly failed to identify the organizers of the crime.

The interrogation of Oleg Orlov, head of human rights center "Memorial" , in connection with accusation under the criminal case of slander of the Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov whom Orlov accused of complicity in the murder of Natalia Estemirova, "Memorial" employee in Grozny, will start on July 6 at 14.30. Details may be found from the "Caucasian Knot".

Dozens of ex-combatants meeting today near the presidential palace demanded that Armenian leader Serge Sargsian should be firm and not yield to any pressure on the issue of settling the Karabakh conflict.

Today, during its first sitting since the renewal of the cabinet of ministers, the Georgian government has approved a plan of actions of the state strategy with regard to the "occupied territories" (Abkhazia and South Ossetia).

The Azeri police in Baku has dispersed today an action of protest by the "Musavat" party which demanded freedom of assembly, provision of democratic parliamentary election to be held in autumn and consideration of Azerbaijan interests at the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict.

Today, police in Baku have again dispersed an action of protest of "Azadlyg" (Freedom) block, which was held with a demand of freedom of assembly, democratic parliamentary elections to be held on November 7 and consideration of Azerbaijan national interests at the negotiations on the Karabakh conflict settlement.

An investigating officer of Sovietski district militia in Makhachkala has beaten Dzhamilia Taghirova, lawyer of Dagestan specialized bar, reports Rasul Kadiev, Dagestan lawyer, to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

On July 4, an exhibition of documentary photos "Rooted out" by Yuri Ivaschenko on the fate of Batumi Kurds and Ezides in Krasnodar Krai is to open in St-Petersburg.

Aslan Chechoev, brother of bee farmer Ghilani Chechoev murdered on June 24, has applied for help to the president of Ingushetia. In his letter, he asks for the persons implicated in the murder to be found and brought to responsibility.

A suspected member of illegal armed units has been killed in Kizliar district of Dagestan, report the republic's law enforcement agencies.

The Russian Orthodox church will continue to render help to residents of South Ossetia, as far as it can, and will send there sisters of mercy. This has been announced by Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, during the July 2 meeting with members of the Board of Trustees of the National Charity Foundation.

Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of violating the cease-fire regime on July 2-3. Representatives of Armenian armed forces refute this claim.

A draft strategy prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development upon the initiative of Alexander Khloponin, ambassador in North Caucasus Federal District and RF vice-Premier, has been submitted to the government, reports Tatiana Konischeva, representative of the Ministry. The Ministry considers three basic scenarios of North Caucasus development: slow, basic and optimum.

In Vladicavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, and in the village of Noghir, officers of the Center on Counteracting Extremism under the RNO-Alania MoI conducted searches and confiscated published matter in the houses of three Jehovah's Witnesses, one of whom was a Group I invalid. The republic's MoI consider the believers of the confession "more apt for terrorist acts", but lawyers talk about an ungrounded limitation of the constitutional human rights.

About 25 various explosive objects have been found in the streets of Grozny from the start of the Chechen capital subbotnik. This has been reported by the republic's MoE.

A self-made explosive device triggered today evening in Nalchik. The explosion occurred at the moment when a militia patrol was passing by. There were no victims.

The management of the private clinic in Makhachkala where Sapiyat Magomedova was undergoing treatment was under pressure in the form of various monitoring agencies, and a decision to transfer her to Moscow has been taken as result, report the lawyer's relatives.

The militia officers failed to carry out the necessary operational investigation on the explosions near the building of Kizilyurt district court, while the criminal case was initiated only upon the interference of the prosecutor's office, states Magomed Dibirov, first deputy prosecutor of Dagestan, to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The prosecutor's office of the Volgograd Central district has revealed facts of placing in Internet of offers to purchase the book by A.Hitler "Mein Kampf", included into the federal list of extremist materials.

On July 1, the Novoshakhtinsk district court of Rostov oblast passed a sentence to four functionaries of the municipal company "Vodocanal", finding them guilty of violating the sanitary and epidemiological regulations which resulted in a mass poisoning of the town residents with potable water.