News

The funeral of the poet Ruslan Akhtakhanov killed in Moscow was conducted in the village of Znamenskoye of the Nadterechny District of Chechnya, where he was born. Opinions of the representatives of the Chechen Diaspora on the causes of murder have differed: some people explain it by the nationalists' revenge for Colonel Yuri Budanov's murder; the others blame representatives of the very Chechen Diaspora.

Central district court of Sochi acknowledged a district police officer from one of the police departments of the health resort guilty of committing forgery by an official.

Law enforcement bodies have successfully prevented over 50 acts of terror in Northern Caucasus during the ten months of the current year, however, operative situation in the region remains tense, Head of the Ministry of Interior Affairs of the Russian Federation Rashid Nurgaliev reported.

The fourth contest of journalists' works "Na/Ne" started in Armenia. The goal of the contest is studying materials from mass media on women's activities and achievements in the sphere of politics, social life and economy during the year and growth of the interest to this issue in the future.

Refugees from South Ossetia, who had been evicted in August from the Hotel "Abkhazia" in the city of Tbilisi, where they stayed for more than twenty years, demand to review the issue of their cash compensations.

All the 14 oppositional activists detained on November 15 during the protest action in the centre of Baku, demanding release of political prisoners in the evening of that day, were released from the police station after a warning. This was reported by Gezyal Bairamly, Deputy Chair of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

On November 15 at the joint meeting of the Security Council, the Anti-Terrorism Committee and the Control Headquarters of Dagestan, the Dagestani leader Magomedsalam Magomedov invited the heads of the territorial offices of the federal agencies engaged in ecological issues, to resign and called them "breeding grounds for corruption in the republic."

Azerbaijan and World Bank (WB) signed a loan agreement amounted to 50 million US dollars for the project to improve living conditions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the zone of the Karabakh conflict. The loan is given for 20 years with a five-year grace period.

In Moscow, a waiter of the restaurant "Sheikh's Treasure" found a pistol. It was revealed that the pistol belonged to Zelimkhan Mazaev, who was put in international wanted list by the United Arab Emirates for the murder of Sulim Yamadaev, Hero of Russia. However, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Zelimkhan Mazaev is not listed in the Russian wanted lists. This was reported by a source from the law enforcement bodies.

Residents of the city of Zverevo of the Rostov Region again started daily picket in Rostov-on-Don. Pensioners and former miners demand to respond to the audit of the Housing conducted in the city concerning the revision of utility rates, regulations, and preferences for heating. However, the Regional Ministry of Housing states that this information will be ready by the end of the week.

The city of Kaspiisk in Dagestan hosted mourning events to mark the 15th anniversary of the terror act, which killed 68 persons.

On November 15, the Magistrate Court of the Soviet District of Makhachkala cancelled the decision of the same Magistrate Court, which brought to justice detained participants and organizers of anti-corruption rally held in the city of Makhachkala on October 3. This was reported by Magomed Shamilov, Chairman of the independent trade union of law enforcement agents.

Sunzha district court of Ingushetia sentenced ex-chief accountant of production department of housing and communal service to three years of custody within the case of misappropriation of over 90 million rubles. This was an information from Department of Committee of Inquiry of Russia in the republic.

Cassation Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation rejected an appeal of "Greenpeace" organization complaining of a refusal to alter the order of the Ministry of Nature Protection sanctioning the borders of "Utrish" nature reserve in Krasnodar region.

According to the amendments to the Marriage and family code and Criminal code of Azerbaijan introduced at a session of Milly Majlis on November, 15, persons who compel a woman to marriage will be held criminally liable.

According to a source in law enforcement bodies, the same persons who had organized the murder of ex-colonel of the Russian army Yury Budanov may be involved in the murder of Chechen poet Ruslan Akhtahanov. Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported that Ruslan Akhtahanov, a well-known Chechen cultural figure, member of Russian Union of Writers, laureate of Artem Borovik prize, was killed in Moscow about this midnight.

The Tver Regional Court continues process on the case of explosion at the "Neva-Express" train in 2009, in which 10 natives of Ingushetia are the figurants. The trial has already questioned defence witnesses, presented evidence; the defendants' interrogation was appointed for November 21. According to Musa Pliev, the lawyer of two defendants, the trial is being accelerated, and the prosecution has failed to answer key questions, including the question of motive.

The Vidnoe District Court of the Moscow Region continues hearings on the case against OMON (riot police) agents accused of kidnapping of representatives of the Armenian Diaspora in Moscow for ransom. Brother of a kidnapped person testified at the trial.

This evening, at the lawsuit filed by Karen Andreasyan, the human rights defender, the Armenian Constitutional Court, issued a decision to order courts to estimate material situation of media in determining the amount of compensation on complaints against defamation.

In Dagestan, the investigatory authorities question residents of the village of Khutrakh of the Tsuntin District who were aggrieved during the special operation in late September. According to human rights defenders, in the course of the a mass clean-up (zachistka) in the village, power agents repeatedly violated the provisions of the Russian legislation with respect to local residents, showed cruelty and degraded people.