News

In Georgia, Giorgiy Arveladze, Director General of the "Imedi" TV Company, treated the record of his alleged telephone conversation with his assistant on the eve of the scandalous programme put on air on March 13 as a "forgery" prepared by Russian special services. The record appeared in the Internet and was promulgated by many mass media.

Today, from early morning repair crews have left for the place of the accident, where electricity power lines got broken; however, they could not reach the point named Dzomag, where one of the most serious accidents in these two days happened. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the press service of the Ministry for Emergencies (MfE) of South Ossetia, the search of broken places would restart on March 17 from 6 in the morning.

The "Chronicle" simulated by the "Imedi" TV Company could destabilize the situation in conflict zones in Georgia. This was stated today by the Observation Mission of the European Union in Georgia.

The litigation against the newspaper "Chernovik" (Blueprint) in Dagestan should affect the enforcing practice of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Kindling hatred or enmity and humiliation of one's dignity". This was stated by Angela Sineok, Director of the Rostov Regional Centre (RRC) "Law and Mass Media". In her opinion, at present the authorities use this article to suppress the freedom of speech.

The US embassy in Azerbaijan has apologized for incorrect data in the report of the Department of State (DoS) on the situation with drugs in this country. On March 2, the DoS reported that Azerbaijan has about 100,000 students-drug addicts.

Georgian communications regulator found the hoax report about invasion of Russian troops into Georgia broadcast by the "Imedi" TV Company to be a breach of journalistic ethics; however, decided not to cancel its license. The scandalous report was criticised by politicians and journalists in the West and in Russia, as well as the Georgian opposition.

Relatives and friends of the Ingush human rights activist Maksharip Aushev who was assassinated last October in Kabardino-Balkaria are conducting their investigation of the crime and have announced a reward for any information about his murderers. The sum of the reward makes 500,000 US dollars. In the opinion of Musa Pliev, advocate of the Aushevs, the investigation is inactive.

Several villages of Eastern Georgia have been flooded as a result of showers incessant for several days. Floods and rains caused electricity supply problems in the area: 122,000 residents are without power, while today the high-mountainous Onsk District in Western Georgia was cut off from the outer world by a landslide, which rushed down on the 11th kilometre of the Kutaisi-Altana-Mamisoni highway. As reported by the "Imedi" TV Company, the landslide was caused by heavy showers.

Experts of the United Nations have published a special report summing up the January inspection held by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) mission and accusing Russian officials of protracting with their decision-making on mitigating negative effects of Olympic preparations on the ecology.

Within the Project "Cinema Dialogues", the city of Stepanakert hosted a presentation of films dedicated to the conflict in the region and created by young journalists - authors of documentaries from Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

On March 13 and 14, in Kabardino-Balkaria, two attacks on law enforcers were committed; fortunately, without victims.

A powerful hacker's DDoS attack on the Chechen forum named "Adamalla.com" and opened in Europe lasted for several days. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed about it by an E-mail sent by the administration of the website.

Russian information resources will go to court against the "Imedi" TV Channel for the illegal, in their opinion, use of their materials in the scandalous report about alleged invasion of Russian troops into Georgia and assassination of President Saakashvili.

Today, at the Arbitration Court of Vladikavkaz, the Department of "Rospotrebnadzor" (Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Supervision) in North Ossetia rejected an amicable agreement on the lawsuit with the "Electrozink" Factory. In the opinion of the Department's representatives, the terms of the agreement fail to meet the requirements for creating a due sanitary-protective zone around the enterprise.

Israpil Shovkhalov, editor-in-chief and Abdullah Duduev, chief-editor, of the Caucasian independent magazine "Dosh", detained by unknown power agents in Ingushetia, told the details of the incident and expressed their opinion that people of the Ingush President had nothing to do with it. They also supported the MIA's version that they could have been taken for foreign journalists.

Today, another hearing was held in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, on the criminal case initiated against journalists of the local weekly "Chernovik", accused of kindling national, racial and religious enmity. After interrogation of several witnesses, the litigation was postponed till March 16 because of necessity for the judge to study the submitted petitions.

The family of the deceased businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili, who was the founder of "Imedi", has treated the hoax about invasion of Russian troops into the country as a provocative experiment and demanded to immediately return the confiscated TV Company back to them.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Russian Federation has treated the report about simulated Russian invasion into Georgia put on air by the "Imedi" TV Company as irresponsible and immoral. Andrei Nesterenko, official spokesman of the MFA, expressed hope that the international community would duly appraise the incident. A number of western diplomats have already made their damning statements to this end.

On March 15, the Russian Constitutional Court will consider the compliance of the amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CCP) adopted in December 2008, which cancelled the option of jurymen in a number of litigations, with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. In Dagestan, differing opinions can be heard on criminal trials by juries.

The court has rejected the claim lodged by Mayor of Elista against mass media on defence of his honour, dignity and business reputation.