News

On July 18 the Chief Prosecutor's Office of Georgia disseminated confessional evidences of Georgi Abdaladze, the photographer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia, detained on espionage charges, who said he had been recruited by Russian secret services in 2002 in South Ossetia.

A new faction in the Parliament of Georgia "Unity for Justice" initiates the establishment of the temporary Investigatory Parliamentary Commission to investigate the facts of persecution of journalists.

Today, the first meeting within the dialogue between government and opposition was held in Yerevan. No top problems were discussed, as David Arutyunyan, the representative of the working group from the ruling coalition, said after the meeting.

The victims of the explosion, which occurred in Kaspiisk city last night, feel satisfactory. About this the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was informed by Ferzilakh Ferzilaev, the department head of the Caspian city hospital. All victims got shell fragment wounds.

Last night in Mutsalaul village of Khasavyurt District unidentified persons shelled with submachine guns the house ownership of a local resident woman, suspected of illegal alcoholic beverages selling, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Rasul Magomedkhanov, a resident of the village.

On July 22 a new protest rally condemning violence against Muslims is to be held in Dagestan in front of the central mosque of Khasavyurt city. The rally is to be held again under the slogan "Irresponsible power is a threat to the security of citizens and state".

Today, Georgian policemen have evicted refugees from South Ossetia and Abkhazia away from several temporary accommodation centres (TACs) in Tbilisi. In some places refugees rendered resistance claiming that they did not agree to settle in rural areas where they were offered alternative accommodations.

Svetlana Alipova, Editor of the newspaper "Perekrestok" (Crossroad) of Belaya Kalitva District of Rostov Region, earlier dismissed by the district administration authorities, has been reinstated on the appeal of the Regional Prosecutor's Office. The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by the press service of the Regional Prosecutor's Office, the inspection showed that the dismissal of the local editor was illegal.

In the Stavropol Territory the pre-trial restrictions in the form of custody were imposed on Victor Dvorakovskiy, suspected of involvement in terrorism, the press service of the Investigatory Committee of Russia reported.

In connection with the amnesty announced by the Armenian authorities 533 inmates were released from prisons and 283 convicted faced reductions of sentences.

In the evening of July, 15, a group of independent journalists underwent an assault on the part of police personnel and people wearing civilian attire in the settlement of Jalill, Sharur district of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (NAR). This was reported by regional correspondent of the Institute of Reporters’ Freedom and Safety (IRFS) Khiakimeldostu Mehtiev. In connection with this IRFS asked President Ilham Aliev to step in the situation with freedom of mass media in Nakhichevan.

As a result of an explosion which took place at about two o’clock at night one police officer perished and two others were wounded and taken to hospital, a source in the Committee of Inquiry of the Russian Federation in Dagestan reported.

An action of memory of the tragedy in Kuibyshev pool “Disaster is never alien” will embrace several districts of Volgograd region.

Magomed Lokyaev, 23, a resident of the city of Tyrnyauz, was kidnapped in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR). This was reported by his aunt Khava Tekaeva, who lives in the village of Verkhni Baksan, the Elbrus District of the KBR.

At night on July 16, unidentified person shelled a car with the imam of the village mosque and the deputy imam of the Untsukul District; both churchmen were hospitalized.

On Friday, July 15, the Sabail District Court of Baku ruled to extend for two months the arrest of Arif Gadjily, the head of the central office of the "Musavat" Party; Tural Abbasly, chairman of the "Musavat" youth organization; and Muhammed Medzhidli, a member of the Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA).

At the sitting in Makhachkala on July 15 on the issue of the project of a tourist cluster in Northern Caucasus, the federal authorities did not yet give their consent to include the Dagestani seashore into the project. The main reason was in the absence of the final conclusion on supposed financial expenses.

Today at 6:40 a.m., Boris Khudalov, 61, a victim of the gas cylinder explosion in Vladikavkaz on 25 June, died at the Military Medical Academy in St Petersburg. This was reported by Irbek Doev, head of the press service of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania under the Russian President in Moscow.

Together with Prime Minister Sergey Shamba, who is running for President of Abkhazia, Shamil Adzinba, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Youth Affairs and Sports of Abkhazia, will run for the post of vice-president. Today, Sergey Shamba, and Shamil Adzinba filed their consent to run for to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

The Rostov Region has launched an enterprise to make clamps for domestically-made passenger cars. Three million roubles were spent to create the facility, where 36 visually impaired invalids are employed.